Frostbitten
by FlutterbyB
Summary: When Abbey's cousin comes to Monster High the new ghoul sends a new wave of curiosity through the school. Everyone at Monster High is used to the icy beauty of Abbey, but her cousin isn't at all what they expected. One manster, though, can see she's a kindred spirit. If only he knew just how much they really have in common.
1. Prologue

**A/N Alrighty then! Welcome to Fristbitten, my first stab at a Monster High fan fiction. I will inform you now that I will be pulling from all MH dealios which include the original Monster High young adult novels, the Monster High novels by Gitty Daneshvari, and the Monster High webisodes and full-length feature films. With that in mind it's time for my favorite part…..**

 **DISCLAIMER!**

 **I own nothing of the Monster High name, including all written and video media.**

 **With that now said! Let's get this thing underway!**

 **Prologue**

A freezing, howling wind blew around the high mountaintops of the Himalayas as a group of yetis gathered in a cave to gain protection from the elements. Many aged male and female yetis stood in a tight semicircle with a single figure standing apart in the center. The single figure stood tall with shoulders squared and eyes looking straight forward. Her winter white hair was fixed in a single braid straight down her back. Her jaw was tense with her mature tusks protruding from between her lips to nearly reach her nose. Her amethyst eyes stared straight ahead, unwavering, at the figure in the center of the semicircle, ignoring the many males and females to either side of the figure.

The figure whom the female stared at was a hulking male yeti. The male stood nearly three feet taller than the female, as was normal for their species. His frame was supported by thick muscles covered in deep blue skin and silvery-white fur. The male yeti greatly resembled the human depiction of their once considered fabled existence. He stood tall, jaw set and shoulders squared, staring back at the female. "Lidya Frostbite, you are here today to answer for the crimes of your kin, too young to answer for themselves." In Yetish the long-winded sentence seemed to translate into only a handful of words.

Lidya's jaw tightened, but she said nothing.

"Three days past your child injured another of this clan so severely that the youth has been forced to lose half of a limb. Had the youth not survived, your child would've met the same fate. Too many times has her name come to us as a complaint. This is the last time, Frostbite. Had the injured youth not survived her outburst she would have met the same fate, however, it is the decision of this counsel to instead cast out your child."

Lidya's eyes widened slightly and swallowed hard. For the first time she looked away from the group to a sole figure hunched at the edge of the cave looking out into the coming storm.

"Until the day she can control herself she will not be allowed to return to this village, even if that takes her entire life."

Her resolve fell. Lidya's chest seemed to cave in as what little oxygen she held left her lungs. _No…No…I…_ She turned once again to look at the hunched figure. Her daughter meant everything to her. _Ilsa…_ She looked back at the counsel. "Where will she go?"

A female, older than Lidya evident by the creases in her brow and high-status defining tattoos around her left, frowned. "That is not of our concern."

The center male held up a massive hand to silence the woman. "You will be given a fortnight to make arrangements. After that, your child will be forced out if she has not already left."

"But…"

He stomped one large foot. The sound echoed loudly off the cave walls. "We are finished."

The counsel broke apart, leaving Lidya to focus mostly on managing to stay on her feet. She stood there for what felt like hours trying not to dwell on that fact that in two weeks time she would be forced to say goodbye to her only child for who knows how long. It was only when she felt a cold hand on her shoulder that she finally turned to look into the mismatched eyes of her daughter.

"Ma?"

Lidya took a deep breath and straightened her spine. She put one hand over her daughter's and shook her head. With a shaky voice she explained the counsel's decision.

Ilsa, only child of Lidya Frostbite, looked down. This was all her fault and now she would be leaving the only life she had ever known. She looked out at the coming storm and felt as though it greatly reflected her life. A storm was coming.


	2. The New Ghoul

**A/N Chapter one! Yay! Here we go ladies and gents! I hope you enjoy** **J**

 **Chapter One: The New Ghoul**

Abbey Bominable sat at the little desk in her dorm room staring down at a letter from home. Down the hall she could hear other students in their own dorms readying their rooms for the next year at Monster High. Abbey's room was already done seeing as how she didn't have to worry about a roommate wanting to pitch in with the décor. Not many of the other students could handle the freezing temperatures Abbey needed to maintain her comfort level. It was rather good of the school to open an old wing as dorms to house the students who came from far away, like Abbey herself. She remembered the first day she had read about Monster High in a brochure. A school where monsters from all over the globe were welcome, what could be better? She loved home, but there were only so many monsters her own age in her village and she longed for more friends and a group of friends that understood there was more to life than yakskin. There were many times she felt homesick, but with friends like Frankie, Draculaura, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Ghoulia, and even the occasionally-snotty Cleo she never felt that way for long. They were the best, most accepting friends a ghoul could have. As she read the letter for a fifth time she really hoped that was true.

 _Knock! Knock! Knock!_

"Abbey? Abbey! You in there? We came to see if you wanted to spend one of our last days of freedom at the Maul! Wanna go?"

Abbey perked up slightly. It was Frankie, just the ghoul she wanted to see. "I be out in minute!" Standing from her desk, she tucked the letter into her bag and pulled on her usual furry boots. Abbey opened the door has she slipped her purse onto a shoulder.

Frankie smiled at her much taller friend. "Hey ghoul! The gang is waiting downstairs, let's go!" She grabbed her icy friend's hands and practically dragged her down the stairs and outside into the warm, late summer day where the rest of the ghouls were waiting for her.

"There's our favorite yeti! C'mon ghoul, dad's given me some extra spending money for new stuff for school and I totes plan on spending it on shoes!"

Abbey couldn't help but smile at her very petite vampire friend. Of all her friends she could never figure which one had more shoes. She was certain she had narrowed it down to Draculaura, Clawdeen, or Cleo.

The group of ghouls walked the couple miles from the school to the nearby maul not once complaining about the warmth or distance since they were much to busy chatting about their summers. Many stories overlapped, but since Abbey and Lagoona hadn't stayed in Salem for their summer their stories were new and refreshing for the others.

"Mum and Dad took me to this beauty of a little cove where they first met. It was totally aces! I really hope over Spring Break I could possibly take Gill there if his parents let him go to Mosstrailia again, but seeing as how our last visit wasn't all that fantastic to start with…"

Frankie smiled. "Yeah, but we still got to meet Andy _and_ we still had a totally voltageous time, right ghouls?"

They all agreed with happy smiles as they made their way into the maul. There was a long discussion over which store they would first visit, but Clawdeen won out with her insistence that they visit Scare Minerals first since they would all need new makeup for the upcoming year.

While they took off for the shop, Abbey hung back a little. She could feel the letter in her purse as though it were burning. She needed to talk to the ghouls about it, but she was uncertain as to when the best time for that might be. Perhaps they might stop at the Coffin Bean for a refreshment later and that would be a good time. Maybe on their walk back to the school after their shopping was done. Hmm…

The group had moved from Scare Minerals to Icktoria's Secret as Cleo's request. She claimed they were the only store in the entire maul that carried the right shade of gauze that complimented the wrapping she bought earlier in the summer.

While the group made their way through the busy maul Abbey was composing a little speech in her head. She felt she was being silly to worry so much about this, though, seeing as how her friends were really the best ghouls anyone could know. However…this did need a bit of tact, something she always seemed lacking in. Yet…maybe she was just being silly.

"Abbey? Earth to Abbey! You in there?"

The young yeti shook her head and blinked at the pale pink hand waving before her face. "Ya?"

Draculaura chuckled. "You were really lost in thought, there! I thought I'd never get your attention. The ghouls wanna go get some grub, you hungry too?"

Abbey smiled slightly. "Yes. Am hungry. Where we going?"

"Coffin Bean."

"Scary Queen."

"Grubway!"

"Gnarlie's."

The ghouls all stopped and looked at each other before laughing.

Ghoulia slowly raised a hand to offer her own advice. "Nuuuh uhhhggg mmaaaaa."

Lagoona smiled. "Great idea, mate! We'll all just go get what we want and meet up at a table to eat."

The ghouls all parted ways to their favorite maul-food joints. Abbey joined Frankie at Scary Queen to get some ice cold milkshakes. Her brows knit together as she drummed her short claws on the counter while waiting for her choke-late and straw-scary milkshake.

Frankie frowned. "You okay, Abbey? You've seemed really distracted today. You didn't even try on those super cute snowflake boots I showed you in Christofur and Fangs."

The young Cyclops boy behind the counter with a terrible case of acne handed over their shakes with a shaky hand, obviously taken by the pretty girls before him. "There yah go, ladies."

Frankie smiled sweetly and dropped a tip into the jar on the counter.

Abbey hardly even noticed. "Frankie, I need talk to you and ghouls. Have big news."

The construct didn't know whether to smile or frown with worry. What could be bothering her friend like this?

As the group of ghouls all sat down at one of the larger tables with their food Abbey gave Frankie a look. The green ghoul nodded and cleared her throat. "Ghouls, Abbey's got something she needs to talk to us about."

Mouths hung open with sandwiches and forks held halfway between plates and mouths as all eyes trained on the yeti. Abbey took a deep breath and reached into her purse to pull out the letter. "Over summer I went back home to Himalayas. There I have cousin who not doing so well with other yetis there. She…um…not fitting in. I tell family Monster High would be good place for her. We write to Headmistress Bloodgood and my cousin will be coming to Monster High."

Cleo put down her fork and stared at her friend intently. "Tell us, Abbey, why do you sound so…distraught about this?"

"Is she just clawful?"

"Is she mean?"

"Does she have a seriously freaky aversion to fashion?"

"Please don't tell me she only eats raw meat! Sometimes it's hard enough with Clawdeen, not in a bad way! You guys are my best friends! I just, you know!"

Abbey almost smirked at Draculaura's little speech. A vegetarian vampire whose best friend was a carnivorous werewolf was really an odd thing to behold. She shook her head. "Is not that. Cousin is…different. She not like normal yeti. It make her very…shy. She talk even less than I did when I first come here. She cannot stay in village. Being somewhere were differences are celebrated would be good for her."

Lagoona slurped on a bit of seaweed and tilted her curly blonde head to the side. "If school starts in a couple days, when does she arrive? Aren't all foreign students already here?"

"She be here tomorrow. What time I do not know. She and I will be sharing room."

Clawdeen smirked. "That's good. None of the other dorm students can room with you since your room is too cold. Now you get a roommate, and she's family!"

Abbey smiled weakly.

Ghoulia frowned and piped up. "Guuuhnnaauuh?"

Cleo gasped. "Ghoulia! How could you insinuate such a thing? This new ghoul is Abbey's cousin. She wouldn't be one of the kids who don't like her. Why would you say that?"

The zombie shrugged and with another long string of groans pointed out that Abbey didn't seem too enthused with her cousin coming to Monster High.

Draculaura looked at her icy friend with a furrowed brow. "Is Ghoulia right, Abbey?"

The yeti frowned deeply. She was upset, not because she thought Ghoulia might be right and that the others seemed to agree with the zombie, but because they were very, very wrong. "Ghouls, you are wrong. I understand why you think these lies, but you are wrong. I am only friend of my cousin. I am only monster in whole village our own age who understand her. She really very different, but I make sure no one bother her here."

Frankie reached out a hand and smiled. "You have nothing to worry about, Abbey. Monster High is totally accepting of new monsters, no matter how different they are. I'm sure your cousin will be perfectly happy here!"

The other ghouls all nodded and added in their own words of confidence. They all agreed that no matter what, they would be the new ghoul's friend. Abbey was very moved by their instant devotion to someone who wasn't even there yet, however she was incredibly afraid. What if it happened again? Tomorrow would be a very stressful day.

 **A/N Alrighty, first off, I'd like to thank anyone who even cared enough to look at this. I'm honestly writing it purely for fun! Also, my memory is fuzzy, but I'll try to get as many of the store names, cities, and items as properly monster-fied as I can. If I get it wrong or if any of you have better suggestions, please let me know! I'd love input on it!**


	3. Ilsa Frostbite

**A/N You'll notice I'm uploading many chapters at once. My reason: poor internet. My connection is only so-so, so I'll be writing and uploading not chapter by chapter, but as internet comes. Also, I'm going to be going into crazy detail with how Ilsa looks mostly because her appearance in such a huge factor!**

 **Chapter Two: Ilsa Frostbite**

Abbey sat on the front steps of Monster High waiting rather impatiently for a sickly yellow scab to pull in through the wicked looking front gates of the school. To a normie, the school might seem terrifying or like something out of a horror movie, but really it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked. Just because the fountains spewed murky water and the gates moaned and groaned under any kind pressure didn't mean it was a decrepit shack. Each time the gates yawned open Abbey would jump to her feet only to slowly sink back down. Teachers came and went, some stopped to great her, others ignored her, but Abbey didn't care. Snow was beginning to pile up beside her as the air around her was crystallized by the necklace that hung at the base of her throat.

The gates screeched open.

Abbey jumped up.

No scab.

Abbey sat back down.

This routine continued a few more times before the yeti decided to just sit and wait. No more jumping about. The next time she heard the gates open she only looked up. This time she smiled. Through the gates walked her friends, all holding blank posters.

Frankie waved at her friend. "Abbey! We brought stuff to make welcome signs for your cousin! We were going to decorate them before we came, but we realized you never told us her name!"

The ghouls all dropped their supplies of posters, markers, paint, and brushes.

Abbey smiled. "Her name Ilsa. I-L-S-A."

Draculaura smiled. "What a pretty name! Is her last name Bominable too?"

As Clawdeen and Ghoulia started to make some clawesome welcome signs, Abbey talked about her cousin. "No, Ilsa's last name is Frostbite. You see, ours mothers are twins. My mama is older. Anyway, Frostbite is Mama's maiden name." She frowned slightly. "That is other reason people are mean to Ilsa. Aunt Lidya did not marry Ilsa's father. That does not happen in yeti villages…"

Draculaura laughed. "Ilsa is lucky. I know lots of kids who'd rather their parents weren't married. Does Ilsa mind? Does she, like, spend time with each parent?"

Abbey toed a pile of snow. "No. Ilsa not know her father."

The group quieted. No one said it, but everyone was thinking it.

Oh.

They all turned back to their signs. Frankie finished her sign first and held it up for Abbey to see. "What do yah think?"

Abbey took one look at the sign and almost fell over laughing. Written on the sign was a single word: Hi.

The ghouls all chuckled over the funny reference that lightened the mood and made it easier for them to be happy while looking forward to meeting the new student instead of sympathetic. When they finished their signs they laid them out to let them dry in the sun until Ilsa arrived.

The ghouls were in the middle of a conversation about the upcoming school year and what classes they were scheduled for when Clawdeen's ears perked up and her head whipped around. "Shh! Do you ghouls hear that?"

Everyone quieted and strained to listen to whatever it was that the hypersensitive ears of the shewolf heard.

A rumbling engine.

Abbey's eyes turned to the front drive as she stared down the gates.

A horrible shriek rose as the gates slowly swung open.

Abbey stood.

A sickly yellow scab pulled up through the gates.

Abbey perked up. "That is her! It must be!"

The ghouls all picked up their signs and held them aloft as the scab came to a stop.

Inside the scab a young ghoul took a deep breath as she looked out the window. She saw her cousin standing with a group of other ghouls. Her throat felt dry. These must have been the ghouls Abbey had written home about. She had hoped it would be longer before she was forced to meet people. Taking another deep breath she pulled out a few crumpled bills for her fare.

The driver, a sea creature with a rather tall fin sprouting from the top of his head, smiled back at her as he grabbed the money with a webbed hand. "Looks like you've got quite the welcome committee there, young lady. Would you like help with your bags?"

The young monster shook her head as she slipped the strap to her yak-skin duffel bag over her shoulder. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Stepping out, she held a hand up to her eyes to block out the blinding sun.

The ghouls all smiled and waved as they took in the sight of the yeti stepping out of the scab. They had all expected another blue-skinned, white-haired monster decked out in fashionable furs and nifty jewelry like their friend, but this ghoul didn't look anything like they had expected. Ilsa was tall like her cousin, perhaps even a bit taller than that, and had white hair as well, but that's about where the resemblance stopped. Her figure wasn't as fine and shapely as Abbey's. Her limbs were far thicker, not with fat, but with muscle. Ilsa's shape was evidence of a life spent doing hard work on a daily basis. Her skin was an incredibly fair blue, but it seemed splotchy and speckled with white from a distance. Her long white hair was tied into a couple dozen braids that seemed to glisten in the light and fell around her head and face in a very tribal way, many of which obscured half her face. As far as fashion went the girl was dressed in clothes that nearly made Cleo and Clawdeen faint. Her top was a thick black blob of shapeless fabric that fell just past her elbows. She had matched the top with what they guessed were yak-skin pants since they matched the bag over her shoulder. There was a lump of tan, brown, and fur draped over one of her elbows they assumed was her coat. Her shoes were dark brown leather boots, thick and clunky, obviously made for cold weather and hard terrain. It actually appeared that she still had snow and ice stuck to her boots after her journey. Overall, she was intriguing to say the least.

Abbey broke away from the group of ghouls, dropping her sign and not caring, to embrace her cousin in a hug. "Is good to see you again, Ilsa."

The yeti remained quiet as she stiffly hugged her cousin in return. She stepped out of the hug and crossed her arms over her chest. Together the two ghouls retrieved Ilsa's luggage from the trunk of the cab and sent the driver off.

Abbey took one of Ilsa's free hands and lead her over to the group. "Ilsa, let me introduce you to friends. This is Frankie Stein, a construct, Clawdeen Wolf, a werewolf, Draculaura, a vampire, Cleo De Nile, a mummy, Ghoulia Yelps, a zombie, and, lastly, Lagoona Blue, a sea monster. Everyone, this is Ilsa, my cousin. Remember what I tell you. Air down here not so thin. Is not a waste to talk."

Ilsa nodded shyly. Her eyes flicked up to look at the ghouls, but the moment any of them locked eyes with her she looked back to the ground. Despite Abbey's words of encouragement she remained silent.

Up close the ghouls all got a better look at the new student that left them slightly unsettled. Ilsa's features were very different from her cousins. Up close the ghouls could see that the white splotches and speckles were actually snow, and not just pieces clinging to her blue skin. Ilsa appeared to be partially made of snow. The glistening effect her hair gave off was because each individual braid looked coated in a thin layer of ice and snow. Just like her cousin, Ilsa had two small tusks protruding from her lower jaw. She wore no makeup, but the ghouls could see how that would be difficult when half of her face was made of pure white snow. They saw she was toying nervously with a necklace. It wasn't a pretty trinket. It was some strange, yet rather boring looking stone hanging off what they assumed was a necklace made of braided yak fur. The one feature no ghoul felt they could get past was her left eye. Ilsa's face was cut in half by an asymmetrical line of snow that spread over the left half of her face going up and pushing a section of her hairline back past her ear. It seemed no hair would grow over the snowy "flesh". Her left eye looked almost like a photonegative of her right. Her right eye looked normal with an iris of the palest blue and a slim white eyebrow above it, but her left eye seemed to be made entirely of ice and lacked any form of eyebrow. The white of her left eye was a piercing blue with a perfectly round, pupil-less white iris in the center. Those two eyes continuously flicked from ghoul to ghoul and to the ground again.

Draculaura bounced up with a huge smile, being the first to break away from the cold gaze. "Welcome to Monster High, Ilsa! Like Abbey said, I'm Draculaura! It's, like, so cool to meet you! You're totes going to love it here. Monster High is a top school for monsters. Unlike lots of other schools that are species-specific, Monster High gladly opens its doors to all of monsterkind!"

Cleo stepped forward. "I'm Cleo, head fearleader and most important ghoul at this school. Stick with us and no one will mess with you."

"I'm Clawdeen, resident fashionista! And girl, we gotta get you into some fangtastic new clothes! Your first day is your first impression. If you wanna stand out, you gotta look the part!"

Ilsa's single eyebrow scrunched as she turned to her cousin and whispered something in Yetish.

Abbey nodded and responded quietly before turning to her friends. "Isla is tired. I show her to dorm now. We will see you ghouls later."

The group said their goodbyes and waved as Abbey showed Isla into the school and through the halls to the stairwell that led up to the dorms. After climbing the rickety rose pink stairs Abbey opened her dorm room and ushered her cousin inside.

Ilsa stood in the doorway and looked around. She was instantly reminded of home by the dorm's décor. The walls were coated in ice. Icicles hung from the ceiling and around the edge of the few mirrors and single window. She could see her breath for the first time in almost two days. She stepped in and dropped her luggage at the foot of the bed that seemed unoccupied.

Abbey shut the door and crossed her arms. "Ilsa, what that was? The ghouls were being nice to you!"

Ilsa sat down on the bed. She ran a hand over the pillow, leaving a streak of ice. She took a deep breath and muttered in yetish.

"Ilsa, making friends is difference. You will be happy with friends. Not alone."

The new ghoul laid out on her bed and stared at the icicles hanging from the ceiling. "I like alone." She frowned. "Is better that way."

Abbey sat beside her cousin and put a hand on her shoulder. "Ilsa, you are afraid because you are afraid of _yourself_. I can say it million times, but until you see for yourself you will not know. You do not have to be afraid here." She stood and clapped her hands together. "Now, here is plan! You rest and I help unpack, then we get you changed and meet ghouls for hangout and dinner!"

Her single brow furrowed. She looked up at her cousin and-in Yetish-asked, "What's so wrong with my clothes?"

Abbey laughed. "Ilsa, do not play like baby yak who does not know! Ghouls here very stylish, very hip." She waved a hand over her outfit.

The solemn teen responded once again in her native tongue.

Abbey frowned at her. "First, stop with Yetish. You speak Fanglish just fine. Second, you do not need be stylish, but you tell me with truth that you _like_ yak-skin."

Ilsa looked down at her rather unfashionable attire. She frowned. It was a very functional for the high mountaintops of the Himalayas and very comfortable. Why did she have to wear the stylish heels and skirts like the other ghouls? Her clothes were just fine. She locked eyes with her cousin. "I like Yetish. Clothes are fine."

Abbey shook her head. "They are fine for mountains. Functional for hunting, not for fashion."

Ilsa frowned and turned away. "Only pretty people wear pretty clothes."

With that, Ilsa turned over and closed her eyes having decided the conversation was over.

Abbey frowned. She loved her cousin, she really did, but at times like this Ilsa's stubborn ways were incredibly annoying. She only hoped that Ilsa would brighten up by the time they would meet the ghouls for dinner.


	4. Close Encounter

**A/N Welp, here we are! Also, I'm going to warn you, I've rated this T for language and possible adult themes in the future, but mostly language. While our leading ladies are good girls, the "badies" like Toralei and her followers will have a tendency to swear. I promise nothing too vulgar.**

 **Chapter Three: Close Encounter**

Abbey had let her cousin sleep for a few hours while she thoughtfully unpacked for her. Though it was difficult to get couture in high altitudes, Abbey had managed to scrounge up what she could to make some fierce and functional outfits to withstand even the worst blizzard. Ilsa did not, but then again not many yetis were high fashion. Abbey had a plan though. She felt that if Ilsa could break out of her ugly brown pants and colorless tops she could help the ghoul find her voice. Once she had everything put away, Abbey rummaged through her closet to find something for her cousin to wear. Nothing Ilsa had brought would do. Clawdeen would probably faint at the sight of Ilsa's shapeless clothes. With everything gathered she sat on the edge of the bed and shook her cousin awake. "You wake up now. Is time to get ready to meet ghou-"

Abbey was cut off as a pillow connected with her face.

"I sleep."

After snatching a pillow off her own bed, Abbey retaliated. "You! Up! Now!"

Ilsa groaned and sat up, running a hand over her braids. She slumped her shoulders as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Why do I have to go? I'll be here all year, I can meet people then!" She spoke in rapid yetish as she ran her hand over the bed and felt the hard, crisp edges of ice. She frowned. Ilsa would have to get new bedding. These basic sheets weren't up to snuff to deal with the icy temperatures caused by the yetis.

Abbey shook her head. "Fanglish, Ilsa, Fanglish. Anyway, You think like that and you never meet people, never make friends. Ilsa, you must _trust_ me. I have been in same place. Being new ghoul is not easy, but you have foot in door. You have me. Now, we get ready." She held out the clothes she had picked out for her cousin to wear with a warm smile.

Ilsa took the offered clothes and held up each piece. Abbey had chosen an asymmetrical ice blue blouse with a pair of holey black jeans and a crystal-looking white belt. She frowned.

No.

Putting the clothes to the side she went to her little dresser and pulled out a fresh outfit of her own choosing. While Abbey was distracted with getting herself prepared, Ilsa was able to dress without her cousin's disapproving eye. She pulled on a pair of deeply tanned mammoth leather breeches, another shapeless black shirt, and her favorite mammoth leather jacket with a snow leopard fur fringe. She stroked the furry collar, recalling the day she had come across the leopard that had tried to take down a young bull mammoth to no avail. The poor thing was already on its way out of the realm of the living, Ilsa just helped him along. Yeti tradition said it was only right to use every bit of the animal as wisely as she could so she decided to trim her old coat in the leopard's luxuriously soft pelt.

Abbey turned just as Ilsa was slipping her feet back into her clunky leather boots. "Why you not wear what I give?"

Ilsa frowned. "I not like."

Abbey frowned. There was no winning with Ilsa! She just nodded in defeat and asked, "Your hair?"

Ilsa frowned. "What wrong with hair?"

"Nothing wrong! Was just saying you should fix it. You have couple braids look to escape."

Turning to look into the mirror her mismatched eyes narrowed. Abbey was right. After sleeping her tight braids had become disheveled. Ilsa quickly untied and retied the braids that were loose and fraying. Having worn her hair in this style for the majority of her life had given her the ability to redo her hair in record time. Once completed she turned to her cousin and shoved her hands in the pockets of her jacket. "Am ready."

Abbey looked her cousin over. Had the stone at the base of Ilsa's neck not been magically altered to give off the freezing temperatures of the Himalayan mountaintops she surely would've succumbed to heatstroke. However, with the stone in place Ilsa's heavy clothing was similar to a pair of shorts and a tank top worn in mid-summer. "You wear that?"

"Is clothes. Would rather I go bare?"

The yeti chuckled. Despite her cousin's monotone response, Abbey knew that was her attempt at a joke. Ilsa had never really been one for comedy, but she did have a way of saying things. She shook her head with a small smile. "No, is fine. We go meet ghouls now."

With that the cousins left their dorm to make their way outside as Abbey called Draculaura on her iCoffin for a ride. Before they could make it to the door to the stairwell Ilsa bumped into a monster and landed on the floor with a loud _thud!_

"Oh! Sacré boo! Desolé, cherie, I did not see you there!"

Ilsa looked up to see a pale grey ghoul with pink and teal hair and petite wings protruding from her back. She closed her eyes for a moment and took a couple deep breaths before standing. "Am fine."

The granite ghoul dipped slightly. "My apology stands. Let me introduce myself. I am Rochelle Goyle, foreign student from Scaris. I am Hall Monitor here at Monster High, so I should have been paying more attention to where I was going. Do forgive. Now, may I ask who you are? I've never met you before!"

After clearing her throat, the yeti introduced herself shortly. "Ilsa Frostbite. Abbey's cousin."

Rochelle fluttered her wings noisily as her feet barely left the floor. "Oh, parfait! Another yeti! How fangtastique! Well, I shall see you around, n'est pas?"

Ilsa gave a noncommittal shrug as she and Abbey continued on their way.

"Au revoir, Ilsa!"

As the cousins made their way down the spiral stairway, Ilsa inquired if all the students were so…perky.

Abbey chuckled. "Most, yes. Some are mean, but bullies are everywhere. No worry, though. Stick with me and ghouls and you be fine."

Ilsa snorted. _I do not need your protection._ She frowned deeply as she followed her cousin. _It is them who may need it…_

They emerged into the mid-afternoon sun, hands up to shield their eyes from the sun. It was a warm late summer day and both girls were thankful for the magical crystal that hung at the base of each of their necks. Without them the two girls would certainly overheat, a dangerous thing, especially for one made partially out of snow.

The gates creaked open and a stylish black hearse with hot pink decal pulled up the circle drive. As it pulled to a stop the passenger window rolled down and Clawdeen stuck out her perfectly coifed head. "C'mon, ghouls! We've only got two days before school starts and that isn't enough time so show Ilsa around! Let's go!"

A side door opened and the yeti cousins joined the other four that were sitting in the back.

Cleo raised a brow at Ilsa's outfit. "My, my, my. Do you own anything other than those mountain-man style clothes? Darling, leather and fur _together?_ That's so out! And what's with the ugly rock?"

Ilsa took a deep, calming breath as she touched the "ugly" white rock. "Family heirloom."

Frankie sighed. "Cleo doesn't understand that some people just don't care for fashion."

"They should!"

Frankie shook her black and white hair as she gave Ilsa's knee a pat and smiled. "Don't mind her. I like your necklace, it's like, your thing. Does it do what Abbey's crystal does?"

Ilsa nodded pertly. Her mother had told her the story of how her rock had been a gift from a long, long, long time ago that their ancestors had imbued with the magical quality to keep the area around her chilled just as Abbey's ice crystal did.

The vehicle fell into idle chit-chat as Draculaura drove towards downtown. The regular maul was fine, but the ghouls all wanted to visit the strip-maul on the other side of town to really make sure they had scoured every inch of the city's fashion possibilities. Not to mention downtown Salem was where all the fun really happened! There was the theaters, both film and stage, restaurants, the strip-maul, museums, underage clubs, everything! If they only had two days to show someone around, that was definitely where they would start.

Draculaura pulled into a spot outside one of the boutiques in the open maul she turned off the engine. "Alright ghouls! It's three now, and we've got until seven before we gotta head over to Bloody Mary's for dinner. So let's get to it!"

The eight ghouls filed out of the hearse. All except Abbey and Ilsa chattered happily as they headed towards the first store. Abbey didn't talk as she still wasn't a very talkative ghoul, but Ilsa remained silent out of habit. She had learned in her village that the best way not to draw attention to herself was to just not say anything when around others.

"Have you ever been shopping before, Ilsa?"

Her braids flicked out as she snapped her head to attention. Which one had asked that? She wasn't sure so she just stared out and sort of shrugged. "Village at base of mountain sells goods."

Lagoona, the ghoul who had asked, chuckled. "Oh, c'mon now, I mean like real shopping at a maul with your best gill-friends!"

Ilsa shrugged again. "No."

Frankie hooked arms with the shy ghoul and smiled. "Well, today is gonna change all that! We'll start at Glare's Boutique to get you some cute accessories that might go with what you've got."

Abbey snorted. "Not got much. Ilsa is more functional than fashionable. For good reason, too. Mountaintops of Himalayas not good place for fashion. Trust me, I know."

Clawdeen smirked and tossed her mane of hair. "Well, here, fashion _is_ functional."

Ilsa was glad she was behind the rest as she grimaced slightly. She honestly worried that Monster High might actually be worse than the life she had known in the village.

The group continued on and Ilsa felt completely out of place. Pretty trinkets and flashy tops and stylish skirts were not her thing. Hunting was her thing. Trekking through knee deep snow was her thing. Tracking wild mammoths and trapping marmots was her thing. Spending days on end alone was her thing. These ghouls-aside from Abbey-would quite possibly become lost after only fifteen minutes in her stomping ground not unlike how lost she felt in the maul. These ghouls really spent hundreds of dollars on clothes when it was easy enough to simply hunt down a yak or mammoth and turn its hide into clothes? It was beyond her.

After the ghouls spent hours walking around the strip-maul and meandering up and down Main Street showing Ilsa what New Salem had to offer they made their way to Bloody Mary's. Despite the name, there was no blood on the menu. Bloody Mary was the owner. She wasn't the real Mary, just a witch named Mary that had experienced a spell gone wrong and ended up stuck in a mirror for all of eternity. With the help of her husband she was able to open the restaurant she had always wanted to and instead of being the head chef, she was the greeter. She even had a sense of humor and had given the place a mirror theme.

Dinner passed by with happy chatter, aside from Ilsa. She answered questions directed to her, but never added anything of her own to the conversation. It may have come across as cold, but Ilsa wasn't used to situations like this. She had never before been in such a large group. There was one thing that amazed her, though. These ghouls had such high tolerance and acceptance for each other's differences, including her own. Not once did they ever point out the snowy white splotches that obscured her blue skin. No one asked what the deal was with her parents. None of them cared. She appreciated that. What she really liked, though, was that she wasn't the only one whose differences went unnoticed. No one got frustrated when Ghoulia took forever to tell a story. No one pointed out how ridiculous it might seem for Draculaura to have an aversion to blood. No one complained when an itch on Clawdeen's arm led to some stray hairs on the bench. Who cared that Lagoona had to moisturize what felt like every ten minutes? It was their differences and the understanding of those differences that made them such great friends.

After dinner the ghouls took their time wandering back to Draculaura's hearse. They were chatting amiably when a voice stopped them.

"I thought I smelled something rotten."

The ghouls turned to see someone Ilsa didn't know, but obviously this person knew the ghouls. It was a werecat with a half orange-half cream face that was ticked with black. Flanking her were two grey were cats that resembled one another enough for anyone to know they were obviously twins. She crossed her arms over a studded leather jacket with a wry smirk.

The feline had her eyes trained on Cleo. "Still wearing last seasons fashion I see, or is that last century?"

Cleo tensed. "Why don't you take your insults to someone who cares, Toralei?"

"Why don't you take your rotting flesh somewhere that won't make my eyes water?"

The mummified princess was about to say something she would really regret when Clawdeen stepped in. "C'mon Cleo, she ain't worth it."

Toralei smirked. "Listen to your dog, Cleo, she's smarter than your average mutt."

Before things could get any worse, Frankie grabbed onto Clawdeen and Cleo and began pulling them away. "C'mon, ghouls, we have all year to deal with her, let's just enjoy the last couple days of summer while we can."

As the girls began to walk away, Toralei caught a glimpse of the new addition. "Well, well, well! Who do we have here? Another abominable snow-bitch?" She slinked over to Ilsa and stood close enough to feel the overwhelming cold. She flicked one of Ilsa's braids. "What kind of freak are you?"

Her two flunkies chuckled and meowed in mocking tones.

Abbey stiffened as she shot a glance at her cousin.

Ilsa was frozen on the spot. Her eyes were locked on the werecat. Her hands hung by her sides, clenching and unclenching. Her jaw was tight. She would not give this feline the satisfaction of an answer.

Toralei sniffed and turned. "Whatever, just stay outta my way, Newbie." She and her flunkies slinked away from the ghouls, laughing and meowing the whole way.

Ghoulia gave Ilsa a sympathetic look. "Guuuhhh Maaanuuuggh."

Frankie smiled softly. "Ghoulia is right. Don't listen to Toralei. She's never liked any of us. She just likes making people feel bad about themselves. You're not a freak."

Ilsa didn't reply. She just looked at the ground as they approached the hearse. Once seated and buckled she stared out the window. She had been warned there would be bullies in this new place. There were always bullies. She just hoped she could overcome her temper as easily as she had just then. The last thing she wanted was to lose her temper. That was never a good thing…

 **A/N So I've decided Toralei isn't going to just be the prank-pulling meanie sort of bully. She's going to be a straight up bully. I'm talkin' pushy, sneering, conniving, border-line abusive.**


	5. Welcome, Welcome

**Chapter Four: Welcome, Welcome**

The sun rose over Monster High the morning of the first day of the new school year. Students both in the dorms and off campus were already beginning to awaken in anticipation for the day ahead. Today was the beginning of a new year, a chance to make fresh impressions and reestablish their places in the hierarchy of the high school disembody. In rooms all across the city of New Salem students were dressing in their very best first-day outfits, outfits many of them had spent tireless hours picking out. Some, of course, prepared like it was any other day. Not every student cared what others thought of them.

In one dorm room of Monster High a young yeti was preparing for her day. She sat before her vanity and brushed her hair out to ensure it was perfectly straight. Her blue fingers that ended in nail-like claws ran over the pink, blue, and purple streaks. She had just refreshed them the day before in preparation for this day. Laying across the lounge chair in the room was her outfit. She had decided to go with a cute mini-dress of dark blue with an asymmetrical hemline that she would accompany with a low hanging belt that looked as though it was made of pale blue and white ice crystals. Her favorite thing about the dress was the sleeves. Only a slim bit of fabric would hold the dress on her shoulders before opening up over her upper arm. The sleeve reconnected with a small blue crystal just before her elbow. She matched her remaining accessories to the idea in the belt. Blue and white chandelier earrings and a single thick-cut, crystal-esque bracelet blended perfectly with her theme. The last thing was the pair of shoes she had chosen. A pair of killer stilettos that had a thick cuff around the ankle. The outfit was something one might see before walking into a club, not something you would see on a first day of school. However, Abbey had spent long-winded conversations with Clawdeen about her outfit and was certain that if she intended to draw attention to herself on her first day of her Junior year at Monster High this was the perfect outfit to do just that.

Before getting dressed, though, she had to make sure her hair and face were perfect. She braided her hair in a single thick braid that she pulled over one shoulder. Her makeup was similar to her usual style with just a touch more flare and a deepening of the eyes to really draw attention to the beautiful shade of amethyst that they were. Once her visage was complete she smirked happily and moved to get dressed. After dressing Abbey suddenly realized her cousin was still sleeping. She frowned and quickly moved to the bedside. "Ilsa! You must get up now! Is time to get ready for school!"

A single grey iris greeted the world as Ilsa sat up and yawned. She ran a hand over her mussed braids and yawned widely. "Is just school, Abbey. Is nothing to get, how they say, dollared-up." She frowned and realized that wasn't the right turn of phrase. "I mean dolled up."

Abbey huffed. "Ilsa, is your first day. You cannot expect people to think much of you if you wear ugly yak pants and over-sized shirt. You at least wear outfit I pick, yes?"

The teen frowned as she looked at the clothing dangling over the edge of her bed. She wasn't looking forward to the mini-skirt, leggings, and halter-top her cousin had picked. Ilsa was self-conscious of her skin and would rather not draw attention to the imperfect blue surface. She had always been jealous of Abbey's perfect skin. It was just the right shade of blue and seemed to sparkle at just the right moments. Her splotchy and speckled skin was entirely out of place in her own village, what would make it any different here? She turned her face up to her cousin. "Why not I wear yak? Am comfortable and not…ex...expi…" She frowned and concentrated on the word. "Exposed." She stood from the bed and held up the garments. This certainly wasn't an outfit she would ever see in the mountains. It was the combined efforts of Ilsa and her mother to cover her skin as best they could. The teen rarely wore anything that exposed her legs due to the fact that her legs had taken much of the force of the whiteness. Her left leg was entirely made of glistening snow and her right leg was white from her hip to mid-shin.

Abbey frowned, but saw things from her cousin's point of view. Perhaps she was pushing a little too hard too soon. Turning back to her closet she quickly flicked through what was hanging there and pulled out a black piece of fabric. "Here. This is better. Much more you."

Ilsa took the hanger and held it up. It was a dress that she was sure would fall farther than the skirt she had been given. She could already see the sleeves were at least three-quarter length. Her favorite thing about it was that is was black. That, however, was the only tolerable thing about the dress. She set it down on the bed and shook her head. "No. I wear own clothes."

Abbey was going to protest, but the look she received from her cousin silenced her. Instead, she dressed in her stylish get-up. "Ilsa, you tell me, why you not wear what I chose?"

The yeti in question pursed her lips. She tried to form the words in Fanglish in her head, but she couldn't think of enough, so instead she reverted back to Yetish. "Abbey, I am not like you. You are comfortable in clothes out of magazines. I am comfortable in my skins. Leave it that way." She turned away and pulled on a pair of buff colored leather pants, a cream colored cotton top, and a copper colored leather jerkin that was lined in the warm, light brown fur of the Himalayan marmot. Turning back to her cousin she motioned to her attire. "I am happy in this."

"Fine, I stop. Maybe, though, one day you try? For me?"

Ilsa turned and looked at her cousin with thoughtful eyes. Abbey was honestly the only person her age that had ever been there for her aside from her mother. Perhaps…She took a deep breath and nodded. "Fine. One day I try. For you."

Abbey smiled as she pulled on her shoes. "Good! Perhaps for Winter Formal I could get you in pretty dress."

"What is Winter Formal?"

Abbey smiled as she stood and straightened out the skirt of her dress. "Is dance. Juniors and Seniors only, unless they invite Sophomore or Freshman to join. Must wear pretty dress. Boys wear nice slacks and ties. Is very nice affair." She offered her elbow with a smile. "We talk more about it later. C'mon, is time for you to meet rest of Monster High."

Together the cousins left their dorm with a few other students and headed down the rose colored stairs. Students were beginning to fill the halls of the high school, many of which were making their way towards the creepateria for breakfast. After getting a good serving of eggs, bacon, and orange juice the Yetish cousins sat down at what Ilsa was told was the usual table for the ghoul friends. Abbey made it her job to point out the students she knew and give her cousin a short description of each one.

"That girl is Operetta. She is daughter of Phantom of Opera. Very good singer, loves music, but don't ever let yourself listen to her. Voice is dangerous. Oh! And ghost girl up by ceiling is Spectra Vondergeist. She runs school gossip and news column."

Ilsa looked around. Her entire life she had been surrounded by yetis and the village at the base of the mountain was rather small. Many of these monsters she had never seen before. Her eyes widened when she saw a boy with living snakes on his head. She turned to her cousin and questioned as to who he was.

Abbey chuckled. "Is Duece Gorgon, Medusa's son, boyfriend of Cleo. He always wear sunglasses or else he turn people to stone. He most popular boy in school."

"Is that _normie_ boy?" Ilsa had been under the impression that Monster High was for…well… _monsters._

"That Jackson Jekyll. He not total normie. When listening to good music he turn into monster by name of Holt Hyde. Holt is often deejay at school events. He very, very good, if not often unreliable."

Just then a yellow-skinned boy with hair that reminded Ilsa of fire walked up to the table with a cocky swagger. "Hey there, Abbey! Glad to see your beautiful face again. You know, with you back the creepateria is a little chilly. Perhaps I should, _heat_ things up!" On the word "heat" his hair burst into flames.

Ilsa's eyes widened as she scrambled to scoot as far away down the bench as she could from the flaming boy. Her heart was suddenly pounding in her ears and her eyes locked onto the boy's head.

Abbey quickly shot an icy blast at Heath's fiery hair. "Is good to see you too, Heath, however, I must you not to that again near my cousin. She has…problem…with fire."

The hot-headed boy looked down the table at the suddenly fear-filled yeti. "Oh…Um…I'm sorry. I, uh, didn't, um…"

Ilsa quickly regained her composure. "Is fine." She looked down at the spots of snow on her right arm. Fire wasn't exactly good for her…

He rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sorry. Lemme start over! I'm Heath, Heath Burns." He held his left hand for her to shake.

Ilsa just stared at it, but refused to return the usual social obligation. She looked up at him and simply said, "Hello."

Heath chuckled nervously. Abbey had always thrown him off his groove, but that was because he was positively head over heels for the yeti. This ghoul, however, made him feel as though he was chilled straight to the bone and just couldn't warm up. "So…um…You're Abbey's cousin?"

"Yes."

What did it take to get a real answer out of this girl!? "Funny, you two don't look anything alike."

Ilsa's frown deepened and she looked away from Heath. _Trust me…I know…_

Abbey frowned. She had seen the look on her cousin's face and knew exactly what she was thinking. In the hopes to make Ilsa feel a bit better about herself she thought up a retort to Heath's unknowingly insensitive comment. "Yes, because you look much like Jackson and Holt."

"Hey, fair enough! I'll catch yah later, Abbey." He winked at her before walking away.

Ilsa looked at her cousin and raised her brow. "He like you."

Abbey waved off the comment. "He try." What Abbey couldn't wave off was the slight blush in her cheeks. Heath did make her laugh, after all.

They continued their little game of spot-and-name until they were joined by Frankie and Draculaura. Both girls were dressed in brand new get-ups. Frankie was in a pair of black skinny jeans that had electric blue lightning bolts on the back pockets and a fashionably loose white, black, and blue top that fell off one shoulder to expose part of her blue tank top underneath. Draculaura was in a hot pink mini Lolita style dress accented in black lace with a black bow tied around the waste.

"Morning ghouls! Are you as excited for our first day as I am? Oh, and by the way Abbey, that dress is totes adorable!"

Abbey smiled at her petite friend. "Thank you, Lala. Clawdeen helped me pick out."

Frankie chuckled and turned her attention to Ilsa. "Are you ready for your first day? Trust me, it's never easy. I should know, I mean, my first day was less than voltage. I totally fell apart! And I mean that literally." She wiggled her hand and let it pop off to crawl across the table.

Ilsa watched the mint green body part dance across the table with bored indifference. "I care little."

Draculaura raised her brow. Was it just her or did this ghoul seem even frostier than Abbey did on her first day? "Ok…So…Has Abbey introduced to any of the other monsters here?"

"She point out few."

Frankie and Draculaura shared a glance and decided now might be a good time to change the subject. Maybe one last try? The construct turned to the new ghoul and cleared her throat. "So, Ilsa, wha-"

Clawdeen joined the ghouls with her tray full of bacon and sausage. "Hey ghouls! What are we talkin' about?"

Frankie smiled at her friend. "I was about to ask Ilsa what classes she had."

Ilsa looked down from the ghouls and at her hands on the table. She held a spoon for her cereal in her dominant left hand, which drew her attention to the features of her left arm. The appendage was made entirely of snow that began to taper off slightly around her shoulder and branch up onto her face. Her favorite part of the snowy limb was her fingernails. Instead of being made of ever-growing keratin they were composed of ice that only grew when commanded to. They were her favorite feature, always neatly kept and perfectly matched in length. Now if only her right hand would match. Those claw-like nails were absolutely atrocious. They were chipped, dirty, and showed the signs of abusive chewing. She should definitely trim them down too. She looked back up. What had been said?

"Mrrow what do we have here?"

The group, now fully formed as Lagoona, Cleo, and Ghoulia had joined them while Ilsa was lost in meaningless thought, looked up to see one orange tabby werecat and her grey-wash followers stood before them.

"You know, with _two_ walking icicles in here this place is getting really cold. I'm practically shivering under my fur." Toralei leaned on the table and stared hard at the yeti cousins. "Perhaps the two of you should go outside. I hear it's going to be warm today, perhaps you'll melt."

Ilsa tensed, but said nothing. She clenched and unclenched her left hand, feeling a sudden tingle rush through it.

Abbey tilted her chin up. "Perhaps fur is thinning from lack of proper grooming. You looking very ragged. Like stray kitty with no milk."

Toralei's only response was a feral hiss as she, Purrsephone, and Meowlody sashayed away with twitching tails..

Noting Ilsa's tense figure, Frankie reached over and put a hand over the yeti's chilly skin. "Remember what we said the other day. Toralei is the only person here you really have to worry about. She just likes getting a rise out of us. Anyway, why don't we change the subject until we gotta head to homeroom. Who's your first teacher?"

Ilsa smiled weakly and pulled out her schedule. "Same classes as Abbey. First is Home Ick with Kin…Kind-ar…" She squinted down at the page. The long, slightly odd looking last name was something she wasn't quite positive she could tackle.

"Kindergrübber."

Everyone had said it all at once.

Ghoulia held up a finger as though to state a point. "Gruuuuunnn."

Lagoona laughed. "Too right, mate. Yah gotta make sure whenever Mrs. K asks about a food yah like to always give a real good description."

"Never offer food to her either. The only student she'll ever take food from willingly is Duece."

"Oh! And if you think the recipe is, like, totes wrong and would taste way better a different way, _don't do it!_ Mrs. K only likes when the food is prepared her way."

Frankie took Ilsa's schedule and looked it over. "Pay attention during Mr. Hack's class. He may get boring, but his stories almost always end up on the test."

"He's also just about the meanest teacher here. He's, like, way strict about grades."

"Oh! You've also got Mr. Rotter. Dead Languages isn't all that bad, and since you already speak two languages he'll take a shine to you…or he'll be even harder on you."

"Hey! We've got Bite-ology fifth period together! That's fangtastic!"

"Have any of you ghouls seen Andy? Last time we talked he said he'd be back, but I haven't seen him yet."

"Well, when was that?"

"A few weeks ago."

"He could've changed his mind. Maybe he's taking more time to get adjusted to the technology."

"Oh! I'll catch up with you ghouls later! Gil is here."

"Bye Blue!"

"Oh! Oh! Clawd! Clawd over here!"

Ilsa tried to focus on everyone speaking all at once, but just couldn't. Her Fanglish was only halfway decent and their rapid speech made it hard to keep up with the internal translation she had to go through. These girls never seemed to stop talking and she wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing just yet. She was quite thankful when the bell screeched out to announce the beginning of the school day. These ghouls talked too much about too little. Together the yeti cousins left the creepateria and headed towards their first class.

The day went by without many bumps and bruises. Ilsa wasn't fond of having to stand in front of each class and give them all a brief description of herself. Years of ridicule had taught her that staying out of the limelight was better. After the first couple classes she had her story down. She was Ilsa Frostbite from the Himalayas. She was Abbey Bominable's cousin and would be at Monster High for her Junior year of high school. She didn't know her favorite class because she had been home schooled by her mother and even then she didn't have a very structured teaching style. If the teachers asked more in depth questions Abbey usually had to step in as a translator.

During last period Headmistress Bloodgood called everyone to the Vampitheater for a first-day assembly. The stern woman stood at the podium and waited patiently as the student disembody filed in and took their seats. Once every one was seated she raised her hands to quiet them down and smiled. "Welcome, welcome, to another year at Monster High. We've had some very interesting times here, but one can only hope that things will finally settle and we can manage a year without the school coming into some form of peril or another."

The students chuckled slightly. Being a student at Monster High recently was quite an adventure.

Bloodgood nodded and removed her head and set it before the microphone. "This is a new year, and I feel the best way to start off on a fresh foot is to use those feet to cut a rug. Next Fright Day just after nightfall we shall have a dance!" She paused long enough to let the cheering subside. With a smile she lifted her hands to settle them once again. "I only have a few rules: Only students of Monster High may attend, this is _not_ a _formal_ event, however it is not casual, and, lastly, keep it clean. Monster High is a respected establishment and I intend on keeping it that way. Now, let's have a great year, everyone! Before I send you all off our fear squad has a little demonstration for you all! Ladies!"

Ilsa looked around as the majority of the ghouls in their little clique stood and shed jackets she hadn't realized they had been wearing. Underneath were the black-and-pink fear squad uniforms she had seen in pictures in the trophy case. She watched as the ghouls all filed down the aisle, bouncing slightly to music that had begun to play. She sat mesmerized as she watched them perform a routine once they took to the stage. Though she didn't care for the music, she couldn't help but appreciate the physicality of the routine. While she had begun to consider the ghouls to be somewhat air-headed or, like Cleo, incredibly vapid, she had to hand it to them that doing what they did took strength and agility, two qualities she greatly admired.

After the assembly and saying goodbye to their friends, the cousins returned to their dorm and fell onto their beds. At first they chatted about the dance, Ilsa not knowing what to wear and Abbey assuring her that she had it covered. Soon their talk died away into silent breathing. The first day of school was always a little draining. Ilsa looked up at the icicles coming down off the ceiling with a frown, her mind traveling from the dance to more troubling matters. "Abbey?"

"Ilsa?"

She sighed. "What I do about tree?"

Abbey sighed and thought back to sixth period Monster World History. Their creature had assigned them all a project for the first quarter. Each student was to make a family tree that would go back no less than five generations on each side with a brief, yet in-depth description of what kind of monster they were. Everyone was also supposed to have an interesting story to tell about each side of their family. Mr. Dread said that to better understand the history of the monster world they must first understand the history of themselves.

"Is simple. You talk to Mr. Dread. You explain problem."

Ilsa's frown deepened. Her brows came together in an almost angry way. "But I not know-"

Abbey sat up on her bed and looked at her cousin with a stern gaze. "Ilsa, no one here care you not know father. They only care about good monster you are. They not like monsters back home. And Ilsa, you are very _good_ monster. You kind and smart, strong and brave."

 _Good monster…_

Unable to find words in Fanglish, Ilsa was forced to revert to her natural language. "Abbey, you say that now, but look at the way Toralei treats people. She has already noticed my skin, what's to say she won't become even worse? What's to say everyone here at school wouldn't make fun of me? You know I don't take criticism well…"

Abbey stood and yanked her cousin off her bed and to her feet. She held her by the shoulders and locked her amethyst eyes with Ilsa's mismatched ones. "Ilsa, you listen to me. My friends, _our friends_ , would never turn on you like that. Toralei is mean-hearted bully, but she never done something without karma coming back to yank her by tail. I promise you, the students here not mean like the monsters back home. Back home what you are goes against yeti tradition. Here, what you are doesn't matter. Monsters here accept differences very well. Take Jackson Jekyll for example. He is _half_ normie- _half_ monster, but he is just as accepted as any other student. You are worrying too much. Talk to Mr. Dread about project and I'm sure he'll give you a way to make up for not being able to do half."

Ilsa nodded and put a hand over her cousin's. Aside from their first hug it was the first truly warm action Ilsa had done. "What would I do without you, Abbey?"

Abbey chuckled. "Probably never leave home and become an old lady who has too many leopards."

"Like Old Olga?"

"Like Old Olga!"

The cousins laughed together thinking about the elderly yeti that lived alone on the outskirts of the village. The old woman was mean and incredibly introverted, speaking only to her collection of snow leopards she kept as pets.

Ilsa smiled and hugged her cousin. It was the first time since her arrival she had felt truly welcome. "I talk to Dread."

Abbey hugged her in return. "Good. Everything will be ok. No worry."

The new ghoul certainly hoped so.


	6. Apologies

**A/N Welp, here we go again!**

 **Chapter Five: Apologies**

The first two weeks seemed to fly by as the ghouls all sat at their usual lunch table in the creepateria. They were all discussing what they would be wearing to the dance that evening as though none of the other girls had been there on Wednesday when they all went shopping after school. Ilsa stayed out of the conversation and looked down at her Monster History book. Her outfit wasn't anything special. Insisting that she didn't need anything new or special for the dance. She had brought with something that would be at least slightly suitable for the semi-formal event. Sure, it wasn't high fashion like the other ghouls', but it would suffice.

"Frankie! Looks who's here!"

All the ghouls at the table followed Clawdeen's pointed claw to see a monster walking into the creepateria. Frankie inhaled a high-pitched, happy gasp as she stood up. "Andy!"

Ilsa tilted her head as she looked the boy over. She recalled a letter from Abbey the previous year about their incredible trip to Mosstrailia that met with a rather interesting side-trip to a place called Skull Shores. This monster fit the description of the Andy Beast Abbey had described. She was also reminded of the first day of school when Frankie had mentioned someone named Andy. Surely this had to be the same person. There was no doubt. A part of her was slightly curious if Frankie and Andy were an item. The construct did seem quite overjoyed that the purple monster had finally arrived at Monster High.

Frankie hugged Andy and led him over to the table once he had gotten some food. "Look who it is, ghouls!" They sat down, Andy filling in what little empty space there was, and smiled at everyone.

"Andy! When did you get here?"

"About halfway through fourth period." Andy smiled at the ghouls. "Sorry it took me so long to get here. Got a little caught up in Fangladesh."

Draculaura beamed. "You went to Fangladesh! What was that like?"

"It was amazing! I didn't learn anything new, though. I'll just have to continue my research from here at school." He bit into an apple and finally realized that he hadn't been seeing double when he noticed Abbey out of the corner of his eye. There really were two blue-skinned, white-haired ghouls sitting cattycorner from him. He looked over at them. "Who's your friend, Abbey?"

Abbey smiled slightly. "She not friend. She cousin." She elbowed Ilsa slightly, prompting her to introduce herself.

Ilsa shifted in her seat. "Hello."

Abbey elbowed her in the ribs.

With a quick glare at her cousin, Ilsa continued. "Am Ilsa Frostbite. Pleasing to meet you."

He gave her a friendly smile as he noticed her physical appearance was actually quite different from her cousin's. He made a mental note to ask Frankie about it later. "Nice to meet you, Ilsa." He turned his attention back to the rest of the ghouls. "So I've heard there's supposed to be a dance tonight? I can only assume you'll be making me go like you did last year."

Cleo gasped. "Were you not considering attending? Oh, Andy! You simply must go! No one has forgotten you from last year, and so many people know how you traveled over the summer. Everyone will want to hear about that! You can't deny yourself this chance to be the center of attention. Why, even I would give up having everyone talking about me if they were talking about you!"

Many eyes rolled at Cleo's self-centered comment.

Andy shook his head. "I do not wish to have anyone's attention. I'm perfectly content with just seeing you ghouls and Clawd and the guys."

Ilsa was intrigued by this monster. She could relate to his aversion to the spotlight, but there was something else. She had never seen a monster, in person or in photos, that looked like him. In her own mind she scoured the many faces she had seen on her journey from the Himalayas to New Salem. She couldn't recall coming across a single monster that Andy reminded her of. For the first time since her arrival she spoke up without having to be prompted. "Andy, I have question."

He looked up at her from his plate. "Yeah?"

Her head tilted slightly as she spoke, "I never see monster like you."

Andy frowned. "Oh…Um…" He gathered up his utensils. "Hey, ghouls, I gotta go see Headmistress Bloodgood. I'll catch up with you later."

He left before they could finish saying their goodbyes.

Lagoona shook her head. "Ilsa…"

"I say wrong thing?"

Frankie reached over and put her green hand over Ilsa's two-tone fingers. "Ilsa, Andy doesn't know what sort of monster he is. He grew up in a normie village. That's why he was traveling over the summer. He's been trying to find out what he is."

Ilsa's eyes fell. She felt physically ill. Unknowingly, she had done to Andy as many had done to her. When asked about her splotchy skin, Ilsa always felt shy and often avoided responding. What made her feel even worse, though, was that she at least _knew_ why she looked the way she did. She _knew_ what made her so different. It was only out of shame that she hid the truth from others. Andy, though, didn't know. She let her head drop as she poked at the food on her plate, her appetite suddenly gone.

Abbey nudged her cousin and quietly asked in Yetish, "What is troubling you?"

"I didn't realize I had pointed out something Andy feels inadequate about…I did to him as others like Toralei do to me." She stabbed a potato, but just tapped it against the plate.

"No, Ilsa, you cannot blame your curiosity. Andy will understand. This isn't the first time someone has asked him that. Now you know, though, and you can apologize the next time you see him. Andy is a good guy, he will not hold it against you. Perhaps you could even share your own secret, and he will understand all the more. You are alike, you know. He too-"

Ilsa's eyes widened. "No! No, Abbey!" She stood and looked at the other ghouls at the table with the fear that they suddenly understood Yetish. She grabbed her plate and hurried to the disposal before leaving the creepateria. The mere fact that Abbey would even suggest she share her full story with someone was beyond her comprehension. No one could know. Ever.

Clawdeen looked at Abbey and raised a brow. "What the fang was that all about?"

Abbey shook her head. "Nothing. Yeti stuff."

Frankie and the ghouls all shared a look. Yeti stuff? Since when did Abbey hide behind Yetish and keep secrets from her friends?

The group noticed that for the rest of the day Ilsa remained almost completely silent. They all had a feeling it had something to do with her suddenly leaving lunch, but no one could get a word out of her. When the final bell rang out she stood from her seat in Mad Science and quickly hurried out. Frankie and Draculaura, who shared the class with the yeti cousins, watched her go with curiosity. They exchanged only a look before standing from their seats and leaving the classroom. Perhaps they could get answers to their unasked questions later, for now there was a dance that would be happening in approximately four hours time. That was only enough time to get their things, gathered all the ghouls at Cleo's, and get ready for the dance.

Frankie quickly ran up the rose steps to the dorms and knocking on Abbey and Ilsa's door. "Ghouls! Are you coming?"

Abbey opened the door and smiled at Frankie. She held up a black dress bag in one hand and a small duffel in the other. "Ready!"

Frankie looked at Ilsa sitting on her bed. "Are you coming, Ilsa?"

She looked up and sort of shrugged. "I get ready here. I manage."

"Oh, c'mon! Who will do your hair?"

She only shrugged again. "Have done hair whole life. I manage."

Abbey and Frankie shared a look. It was obvious Ilsa was still dwelling on something, whether it was the lunch incident or not…

"Ok…Well, we'll meet you downstairs at sunset, ok?"

Ilsa nodded. She watched them leave and sighed. She would still attend the dance, but only with the hopes that Andy would be there as well. She felt obligated to apologize to him. Ilsa set her alarm before lying back on her bed. Sunset would be around six o'clock that evening. She would only need an hour or so to prepare, if even that long. Closing her eyes, she saw only Andy's sad visage. Ilsa frowned, but managed to rid herself of his unsettling gaze with thoughts of her mother. Ilsa had always hoped she could've looked more like her beautiful mom. Lidya Frostbite and her twin sister-Abbey's mother-Liliya, were often considered two of the most beautiful women in the village. When they were the age of their daughters they were the most desired yetis, not only in their own village, but in many of the surrounding ones as well. Despite her transgression, Lidya was still considered beautiful, even if no one would have her. Ilsa opened her eyes and turned over. She reached into the drawer her bedside table and pulled out a photo of her mother and aunt. The women were perfectly identical. They both stood at a towering six and a half feet in height, average for yetish women. The tusks that protruded from their lower jaw were longer and thicker than those of Abbey and Ilsa, a trait yetish women grow into during pregnancy as a way to both express their condition, but show they were by no means defenseless in their "fragile" state. Yetish women are well known for being formidable opponents and hard workers well up to the moment labor begins. Ilsa ran her speckled fingers over her mother's face. The angles of Lidya's face were harsh. She and her sister had the same amethyst eyes that Liliya had passed onto her own daughter. Ilsa had been told her eyes came from her father, though she never knew if that were true of not. Her great uncle Frostovich had blue eyes. Both women had long white hair braided into a single plait that fell straight down their backs. Their blue skin was the pale color of the eastern horizon just before the orange hues of sunrise came. The sisters were absolutely lovely, something Ilsa felt she would never know. Her mismatched eyes and blotched skin made her an outcast and ugly by yetish standards. She frowned. Ilsa had only one person to thank for her appearance: her father.

 _SCREE! SCREE! SCREE!_

Ilsa awoke with a start. She hadn't realized she had fallen asleep. With a tense stretch and a wide yawn she sat up. After rubbing a hand over her face she brought her fist down on her alarm clock, having become overwhelmingly annoyed at the sound it made. She looked at the clock to see what time it was, only to find the device was coated in ice. At first she frowned, then she laughed. This wasn't the first time she had managed to ice something. Standing, Ilsa stretched and yawned again. She felt like she might need to find or make an icy spookacino to wake her up. That could come later, for now she had to get ready for the dance.

Making her way over to the closet to get out the dress Abbey had already given her blessing that she may wear. It was a traditional formal Yetish outfit worn at important events such as bonding ceremonies and funerals. The outfit was two pieces, a long skirt split up both sides to halfway up the thigh and a sleeveless tunic that tied shut at the sides. Ilsa's mother had made the outfit for her to wear two years before when her great grandfather had passed away. It was the first formal event she was ever allowed to attend. Ilsa would be lying if she said she didn't like it. The outfit was made of mammoth leather that had been stretched and worn thin. It was then bleached to whiteness, no easy task. Ilsa had worn it plain to the funeral, but after that Lidya had spent painstaking hours making the outfit something beautiful. With beads made of mammoth bone and tusk dyed into blue tones that ranged from pale ice to the deepest midnight Lidya had woven an intricate snowflake design along the hem and up the splits in the skirt.

Ilsa ran her hand over the design as she remembered her mothers words from the day she had been presented with the finished work: _Never be ashamed of what you are, Ilsa. You are as much a part of the snow as the snow is part of you._ She had to swallow hard as she heard her mother's voice in her head. Never had she been away from her mother for so long. With a deep breath she laid the skirt and tunic across her bed before sitting in the chair before Abbey's vanity. Running her hands over her hair, Ilsa tried to find an idea for her braids. After redoing the messier plaits, she began pulling one or two back at a time, wrapping and weaving her braids together in a style her mother had done the day of the funeral. Once finished she had done her best to replicate the intricately woven bun her mother had always done for her. It wasn't quite right, but it looked well enough in her own opinion. As always, however, she did leave a few loose braids in her face. Ilsa allowed herself a little smile as she pinched the tips of her braids and formed icy beads around them. Who needed hair-ties, anyway?

Now that her hair was done, Ilsa doffed her school clothes and quickly put on the outfit. Once she tied the sides Ilsa sat back down to pull on her shoes. For the first time since coming to Monster High she wasn't going to be wearing her usual clunky black or brown boots. She was wearing a pair of knee-high white leather boots that had a small fringe of white fur around the tops that her mother had made to match the outfit. Before turning to the mirror she grabbed her necklace off the dresser and hooked the latch behind her neck. She didn't care if her "ugly" necklace didn't match her pretty, intricate outfit, she needed it and had never wanted one of the pretty crystals like Abbey had.

Ilsa stood and looked in the long mirror on the back of the door. She nodded at her reflection, somewhat pleased with what she saw there. Checking the time and looking out the window she saw that the sun was sitting low on the horizon. The dance would be starting soon. Before leaving she walked over to the window. Cars were pulling up and students were entering the building. It was time. Ilsa took a deep breath and left her room in time to see a trio of girls from down the hall.

Rochelle Goyle, the head hall monitor, smiled at Ilsa. "What a pretty dress, Ilsa!" She herself was wearing a figure-flattering black and white dress with a gorgeous and intricate iron belt that had a rosy glass fleur-de-lis as its buckle.

The yeti blinked and looked down. Was it a dress? She had always referred to it as a skirt and tunic. Ilsa forced a small smile though. She didn't often talk to the gargoyle, but she liked how she always had something nice to say. "Thank you. Was made by mother."

"Ilsa, according to the Gargoyle Code of Conduct, I must inform you that-"

"Leave her be, Rochelle! So what if her grammar is off?"

Ilsa nodded to Venus McFlytrap. "Thank you."

Venus winked at her. "No problem." She was dressed in an edgy green number with only one shoulder and a necklace that looked like a living vine. Perhaps it was living, or perhaps Ilsa had only imagined seeing the vine grow up the side of Venus' neck.

"C'mon ghouls! We don't want to be late! Are we already late? C'mon!"

Ilsa nodded as she joined the group as they walked down the stairs. Robecca and her fascination of time always made her smile. The robotic ghoul was wearing a dark blue top that she had matched with a skirt that looked to be made entirely out of little bits of copper, wire, and gears that matched a design in her top. She had to admit, each girl looked perfectly lovely in a way she envied. Her homemade attire seemed almost plain in comparison.

The quartet made their way to the schools gym-nasty-um where everyone was beginning to gather. Music was playing quietly for now and no one had yet braved the dance floor. Ilsa said her goodbyes to the three friends and made her way to find the ghouls. After searching for a few minutes she found all the ghouls hanging out by the snack table.

Clawdeen saw her coming first and raised a brow. "Not my style, but not half bad. I bet my sister Clawdia would howl to get her hands on whoever made it. She loves the whole tribal look."

Ilsa had no idea who she was talking about so she could only manage, "Thank you. Was made by mother." She looked around at what each ghoul was wearing. Abbey's little black dress that had a network of what looked like broken ice running across is was very nice. She had to admit she liked Clawdeen's asymmetrical purple and print style. It was definitely her. Frankie's electric blue dress with sheer sleeves was simple, but stunning. Draculaura had chosen a pink dress with a fitted top, poofy sleeves ,and a wide, but short skirt. She matched it with a black leather corset and killer black stilettos. Cleo was wearing a dress she described as Nile blue that wrapped around her body into a one-shoulder that clipped with a scarab beetle clip. Lagoona was in a sea green dress that looked as though it was made of fish scales with a seaweed belt. She particularly liked Ghoulia's dress. It was a creamy white dress with cherries decking it and red trim. Though fashion was not her thing she just knew that each dress was considered high fashion.

"I am so ready for this music to pump up! I did not get dressed up in this killer outfit to stand here all night!"

"Is Jackson here yet? Once he's Holt this place will really be jumpin'!"

As if on command they suddenly heard a voice over the speakers. "Monster High! Are you ready to paaaar-taaay!"

Everyone turned to see the blue-skinned, orange and red haired monster at the turn-table. They all cheered in delight. Holt Hyde had finally arrived!

"Well, alright, alright, alright! Let's get place pumpin' and jumpin' with some scary sick beats!"

The volume seemed to double and the beat picked up. Soon every manster and ghoul was on the floor. Ilsa managed to get herself yanked onto the floor a couple times by the ghouls, but she was more comfortable just watching everyone else dance. At one point the noise was getting too loud for the ghoul used to only the shouting of the winter winds and trumpeting of mammoths. She left the gym-nasty-um to stand in the school's foyer where there were a few more drink and snack tables. She took a deep breath as the doors shut behind her and the music dulled to a pulsating throb. Walking over to one of the refreshment tables she saw a tray of one of her new favorite treats. She picked up the odd grey snack and smirked as she took a bite. Crunchy, yet chewy, and totally delicious.

"I kinda like mice crispy treats myself."

Ilsa snapped around to see who was talking behind her. It was none other than Andy Beast. For a moment she was taken aback by his appearance. When she first met Andy he was in ragged looking shorts, a plain tan tunic, a rather old looking vest, and was barefoot. Now he was adorned in neat slacks, a neatly tucked in tunic, and a crisp new vest with a leafy trim. Though, he was still barefoot. She finished chewing her mouthful and swallowed hard. Once her mouth was free of food she took a deep breath and began what had started out as a well scripted apology that turned into dribble. "Andy, I owe apology. I not know…Frankie telled me. I know what…Um…Am sorry for wrong saying." Ilsa felt flustered. She had never had to apologize for her shortcomings before as her mother had often stepped in to help her there. That, and because she was frustrated her Fanglish was slipping horribly which only flustered her more.

Andy just reached behind her and grabbed a grey treat. "Don't worry about it. Frankie caught up with me later and told me you didn't know. It was just a little hard spending three months searching and coming up empty and the first new person I meet asks me right off what I am."

Ilsa took another deep breath to compose herself and regain her ground. She straightened up and looked him in the eye. "Am sorry."

He bit into his treat and smiled with one cheek full. After swallowing he gave her a friendly smile. "Apology accepted." He looked her up and down and was slightly surprised. The ghoul that had spoken to him earlier in the day was, to be frank, frumpy. Her loose leather clothes and slightly oversized jacket would make any think she was a manster. Only her voice betrayed her gender. He was indeed intrigued by her voice. Though it had the same deep alto tones as her cousin, Ilsa's voice had this strange bite to it that reminded him of the winter winds. Returning to his original thoughts, he smiled and paid her a compliment. "You look nice. You definitely didn't buy that outfit here. I can see that it's hand-made. Both where and when I'm from clothes weren't so industrial. They all had the charm of a mother's touch."

She almost smiled. Not her usual forced smile, but a real, honest smile. Andy was not like the others. "Thank you. You right. Mother made this by own hand. No help. Am very proud." She ran her hand along the blue design. "Each bead hand-made."

"I like the design. Why snowflakes?" Andy finished off the second half of his mice crispy treat as he waited for her reply.

Ilsa looked down at the beaded trim and felt a surge of pride. She held up her left hand and waved it before him so that he might see glisten given off by her snowy skin. "Mother always say I am as much part of snow as it part of me. Yeti often have symbol of family or personal totem. Mine is snowflake."

Andy looked Ilsa over and for the first time really noticed her. He had only gotten a glimpse of her at lunch, but now he could see what he thought was white skin was actually snow. From what exposed skin he could see he noted that her entire left arm was made of snow that crawled up her neck to cut her face in half. A miniscule section of midriff showed a white right hip that lead to a partially exposed white right leg. He was going to comment about how fitting the snowflakes were but was interrupted when the gym-nasty-um doors burst open.

"Ilsa!"

It was Frankie. She was making a bee-line for the yetish ghoul.

"Ilsa! C'mon! They're playing the Electric Slime! You've gotta learn it! It's my favorite dance!"

There was no hope for arguing. Ilsa was dragged back into the gym-nasty-um without the ability to protest since she was wincing at the dull pain coming from Frankie. The construct seemed to have no idea her enthusiasm had turned electric and she was slightly shocking the poor ghoul. The last thing she saw was the doors closing and blocking out her view of the snack table and Andy, who was smirking and shaking his head.

 **A/N So to clarify mice crispy treats they are rice krispy treats, but made with mouse-infused marshmallow fluff. Yummo**


	7. Letters From Home

**A/N OK, so I promise next chapter will be more interesting. I'm trying to make it interesting while staying within Ilsa's low self-confidence. Can't have a ghoul like her suddenly popular and doing stuff and being vibrant. It's not that she flat out isn't like that, it's that she doesn't know how to be that way. Anyway, here we go!**

 **Chapter Six: Letters from Home**

It was late Saturday afternoon in mid-September. A cool breeze brought on by overcast skies had started blowing through Salem bringing the start of fall. Ilsa sat at the desk she and Abbey shared. They had recently rearranged their room so now the desk faced the window. With the window open and the cool breeze touching her face Ilsa was able to read the letter from her mother in total comfort. Two weeks before she had sent off a letter to her mother explaining all the details about their family that she needed for her project with Mr. Dread. She had also explained that her mother needn't worry about anything from her father's side. Mr. Dread said that she just had to go deeper into her mother's side of the family and offer a more elaborate explanation of yetis and two or three stories about her family. Of course, she also filled in her mother about the beginning of her school year. She left out the issue of Toralei. Ilsa didn't feel like causing her mother to worry. Now she sat at her desk with the letter in hand and a notebook open to a fresh page to jot down notes.

 _My Darling Ilsa,_

 _I was quite happy to get your letter! I am glad to hear that you're doing well so far. Abbey is obviously doing well in helping you become a part of Monster High. You mentioned that you were intrigued by the fear squad, but fear you may never have the confidence to do something like that. Why not? Years of working with yaks and braving our mountains has turned you into a strong, agile young monster. Surely they would do well to have you on the team! If you think it is because you are not pretty, isn't one of the ghouls green? Don't her body parts fall of sometimes? She is still pretty. Ilsa, you are beautiful. To hell with the monsters here who dare say otherwise. If you think it would be fun, why not? The worst that could happen is that you will not make the team. Ilsa, you agreed to go to Monster High not only because of your ostracism, but to get away from the negative attention you were getting here at home because of what your father is_ and _because you promised me you would try to get out there. If not the fear squad perhaps something else. Join a club, join a team, do whatever you want (within reason and school rules, of course). Just know that whatever you do I will be terribly proud of my beautiful ghoul._

 _Now, onto other business. I have attached a copy of our family tree for your project. It goes back as long as we've been in these mountains and even a generation or two from when our family was far to the north. You and Abbey will both have plenty of generations to use for your family trees._

 _There was one other thing I wanted to tell you. When your father was here he told me a few stories about his family. I only remember this one. Unfortunately, I do not remember any names he mentioned aside from what he called his grandfather and you know how I do not want you knowing his. Anyway, this is the story as it was told to me:_

 _~I remember when I was a young manster, just out of adolescence and nearing the end of my schooling, and I was visiting my great-great grandfather. He was the oldest man in our tribe and very well respected by his people. Never had one of our kind lived so long as he did. I was visiting him to get some advice. I had told no one of my plans to travel the globe after my schooling was finished and I wanted to know if I would have his support because no one would go against him. I sat on the icy floor of his cabin as I told him my plans. I told him I wanted to visit the coldest places on Earth. I wanted to see the Poles. I wanted to climb Mount Everest. I wanted to feel the snow of every continent. But…I also wanted to feel desert sands. I wanted to know the feel of a tropical breeze on my face. Very few beasts ever saw a sunny beach and lived to tell the tale. We melt and overheat so easily, you see._

 _My grandfather was silent for some time. He sat in his chair, picking at the ice forming there. When he finally spoke, it was with a tone I had never heard him use before. He said, "You do as you wish, my boy, but let me add my advice. Go north, far, far north. Stick to the mountains until it is cold all over. Visit the north pole first. Find a stone that is white, but not white. Small, but not small. Strange, but not strange. You will know what stone it is when you find it. Once you've got it, head south once again. Find your ways to the Himalayas. Climb Everest, yes, but also look to the Yetis. They are quite difficult to find at times. When you find them, offer them the stone. These stones are precious to them. They will give you something in exchange. Ask for a crystal. The Yetis have discovered a way to lock in the icy temperatures of the high Himalayas into a single crystal. It will keep you cold even in the warmest of places. It is only then that you will be able to see sandy beaches and feel tropical breezes."_

 _I asked my grandfather how he knew this, but his only answer was a little smile. No matter how long I asked, he never said anything. So, I left, thanking him for his advice. It was some time later that I told my family my plans. They all hated it, but when I told them I had Granda's approval they went silent. I would've left on my journey much sooner, but Granda fell ill. I waited until he passed before leaving our town. I went north, like he said. The journey was grueling, but worth it. When at the North Pole I walked for hours, staring at the ground. Finally, just when I felt my legs would give out beneath me, I saw a stone. It was small, but not too small, about the size of a pheasant's egg. It was white, but when I held it up to the light it reflected grey with black pinpricks._

Ilsa stopped reading at that spot and clutched the stone at her throat. With a shaking hand she removed the necklace and looked at the stone. It was a grey-white, but when she held it up to the afternoon like she could see the black pinpricks. Her eyes widened. It couldn't be…She turned back to the letter, curious.

 _It was a strange looking thing, but at the same time it looked perfectly ordinary. I could feel that it was something different. I pocketed the stone and rested for a couple days before heading south. My journey from the North Pole to the Himalayas was long and tiring. I had the misfortune of getting near the top of one mountain when a blizzard hit. You would think, being made of snow, I could withstand a blizzard. That's not true, though. If I become too covered in ordinary snow I could succumb and become nothing more than a pile of snow. Anyway, that's when I came across you, Lidya. You were making sure your livestock was well sheltered from the storm. You brought me in and gave me shelter. I gave you the stone and you gave me your crystal in return. Thanks to you I can fulfill a life-long dream. You're a good woman, Lidya, a good woman.~_

 _Now you know, Ilsa, that I have lied to you for many years. Your necklace was not a family heirloom passed down for generations. It was a gift to me from your father. The stone is precious because it is the stone we yetis first used to hold the cold. Many of the much, much older yetis may still have the stone, but we now use the crystals because the Himalayas do not have any stones that can stand having the cold trapped inside them. Only stones from the top of the world can. The crystals are yeti-made creations. Your stone is natural. When I found out I was pregnant with you I took the stone to the shaman of our tribe and had him work his magic. I knew that you must have that stone. If it weren't for your great-great-great grandfather on your father's side telling him to get that stone you wouldn't be here. You have that man to thank for your life._

 _I know this must be shocking, but you mentioned a story and I think this one would make an interesting tale to tell your class._

 _I love you, my darling girl_

 _Please write me again!_

 _Your loving mother_

Ilsa was clutching her necklace in one hand and the pages the letter was on in the other. Her hand balled into a fist, causing the letter to crumple. Her heart was pounding in her ears. Her breathing had quickened. She was angry. Icy tears fell down her cheeks as she tossed the crumpled papers to the side. With a sort of growl she took to her feet and began pacing her room. She had to clam down. She couldn't lose control. Taking deep breaths in through her nose and out through her mouth she tried to steady her emotions. Meditation had often helped in the past. When she could no longer hear her heart beating she sat down and put her head in her hands. How many lies _had_ her mother told her? Her necklace? She said her dad had only been around a few days, and although the story didn't say otherwise, she wondered if he really had only stuck around for a few days. What if he had been there longer, but cut out before she was born? What if he left when she was too young to remember?

She stood and slipped on a pair of her comfy, clunky boots and stormed out of her dorm, slamming the door behind her. Her feet carried her down the stairs and out to the back of the school. It was nearly thirty minutes before she realized she was walking around the track. Taking a deep breath, she stopped walking about looked around. No one else was there. Kicking off her boots, she let her bare feet touch the cool pavement. She sighed in relief as the ground beneath her feet began to ice over slowly. It had been some time since she had been barefoot long enough to let the chill in her body spread across the ground. Ilsa looked around at the track. It was empty. She smiled and crouched down. In her mind she was back on the mountain at home with a snow leopard she had taken to calling Icicle. The animal wasn't her pet, but he hung around the village and she found him to be somewhat personable. Whenever she could get away they would run together. Ilsa pictured him now, his glorious coat in shades of grey, black, and white. Taking in a deep breath she took off. Ilsa let her feet carry her around the track as she imaged racing against the only big cat that dared the high altitudes of the Himalayan peaks. Ilsa ran around the track once, twice, and then a third time before slowing to a speedy jog, then to a walk, and finally stopping. She bent over, hands on knees, panting hard. The air was so thick and rich at the lower altitude. How did monsters do any arduous activity without succumbing to the heady feeling?

A slow clap sounded near her.

Ilsa tensed.

The clapping was joined by a second pair of hands.

Ilsa stood and looked around. She saw the two physical deaducation teachers standing about ten yards from her. Well…she only actually saw one of them seeing as Mr. Verizhe was invisible she could only see his clothes, whistle, and clipboard. She quickly walked over to pick up her discarded boots and noticed that the entire track had splotches of ice covering it where her feet kept hitting.

"Pardon us, but we were just coming out to check the equipment shed when we saw you. That was impressive Miss…?"

She took a deep breath as she continued panting. "Ilsa." Another breath. "Frost." Breath. "Bite."

Coach Igor looked at his own clipboard and noticed that she wasn't on his list of students. "You don't take phys. dead.?"

She shook her head and coughed slightly. The oxygen at this lower altitude was so thick! It almost made breathing more difficult. "Not required for grade."

Verizhe and Igor shared a look and were of one mind.

"Miss Frostbite, do you have a class you'd switch for phys. dead.? Igor and I were rather impressed with your run and, although you couldn't join cross-country so late in the season, we'd love to have you on the crack and shield team. However, the only hitch is that only students who take phys. dead. can be on the team."

Ilsa raised a brow as she stood up fully. "You want me on team?" Wanted? On a team? This was a new situation for her entirely. She had never been invited on hunting forays or to sewing circles. Being invited to anything shocked her.

Igor nodded. "We've got some decent ghoul runners, but not enough for relays. You're a strong runner. You could do sprints, middle distance, long distance, or even curdling. There are other sports, too. If you don't want to run all the time, there's always snot put, discurse, hammer."

Mr. Verizhe stepped closer to her. "How about we make you a deal. You switch your last period to phys. dead. for two weeks and get to know some of the other athletes and take your turn as some of the events, maybe even some other sports like casketball or screech volleyball, and if you like it you stay, if not you go back to your regular schedule."

Ilsa pondered it for a moment. On the plus side she'd get to run again and maybe make some new friends, but on the down side she'd have a class period without her translating cousin. However…that meant she would have to get better at English even sooner. But…she didn't know how she felt being submerged into something entirely new without her cousin. She shook her head and pushed her thoughts away. Despite being angry at her mother, she still made her a promise. She was here to be a part of Monster High, not to separate herself as she had for seventeen years in the mountains. She nodded pertly at the two coaches. "I will do the sports."

Verizhe patted her on the back. "Great! We'll discuss it with Mr. D'eath on Monday! Hopefully you'll take a shine to the group and chose to stay!"

Ilsa slipped her boots back on and started walking away. "Good byes, Mr. Verizhe, Coach Igor." She walked away from the track feeling strangely elated. For the first time in her life she had been invited into something all by herself. She didn't need Abbey's help or her mother having to talk to other adults just so teens would include her. For once in her life something she did got recognized, even if by accident.

When she got back to her dorm she found the door slightly ajar. Ilsa stopped walking and listened carefully. Slowly, she crept up on the door. Taking in a slow, deep breath she pushed the door open and looked inside. She let out her breath with a smile. "Abbey! Why you leave door open? I think someone break in!"

Abbey was sitting on her bed with on bud in her ear listening to music on her iCoffin. She chuckled. "Sorry. I not realize I leave door open."

Ilsa sat on the bed beside her cousin. "What you listen too?"

"Listen!" She pulled out her headphones and let the music play freely. The sound was some weird mixture of traditional eastern European instruments and modern rock music.

Ilsa brightened. Now that was the sound of home.

"Himalayan Yak Band!"

 **A/N So I had to add HYB in the end there because I friggin' love the way Abbey says it when she's excited about it. It makes me happy!**


	8. Beastly Presentation

**Chapter Seven: Beastly Presentation**

"Ilsa, go to bed."

"I can't! Presentation tomorrow. Have to be ready!"

"You not ready if you tired! Go. To. Bed."

Ilsa just ignored her cousin as she sat at the desk putting the finishing touches on her family tree project. She was adding small touches here and there to make the poster look less bland. As she worked she thought about her final period of the day. She had decided to stay in physical deaducation and had definitely decided to join the crack and field team. She was even considering joining a few other sports. Ilsa found that after having to deal with Toralei on a daily basis playing sports helped keep her calm. She was also forging a few new friendships. Some of the werewolves that had come to Monster High the year before and Clawd were teaching her casketball. Monster High didn't have enough ghouls interested to form their own female team so any ghoul who enjoyed playing casketball were allowed to practice with the guys. Lagoona had introduced her to screech volleyball, a rather fun sport. She was so used to chasing down game in the mountains or working from sun up to sun down that getting to use her body again was an incredibly liberating feeling. Now, though, at nearly midnight the day before her presentation, she couldn't sleep. She was too worried about what people might think of her when they found out the truth about her. A part of her was certain her friends in phys. dead. wouldn't care, but does that mean everyone will brush it off?

The next time Ilsa looked at her alarm clock it was nearly two o'clock in the morning. She looked at her poster and could find there was nothing more she could do to put off going to sleep. With a sigh she rolled her project up and kept it in place with a hair band before crawling into her bed. She was asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.

 _SCREE! SCREE! SCREE!_

Abbey and Ilsa groaned as they opened their eyes. Both ghouls reached for the alarm at the same time. The poor piece of plastic and wire didn't stand a chance. It was partially crushed and covered in a thick layer of ice as the cousins smashed their fists on the top of it. They both chuckled as they sat up and yawned.

Ilsa rubbed her face, still quite tired after her late night. She had bags under her eyes and she yawned every thirty seconds or so.

"Next time I say go to bed, you go to bed."

Ilsa only mocked her cousin and stuck her tongue out.

"That is mature, Ilsa."

They got dressed and ready for the day. Abbey, as usual, wore a trendy, fashionable outfit with fur trim and geometric shapes. Ilsa, however, didn't care at all what she wore. She pulled on her favorite pair of yak pants, held them up with a yak leather belt, a loose-fit tank top, and tied the whole outfit together with her clunky brown boots and signature oversized mammoth jacket.

Abbey looked her cousin over. "You really wear that?" Though she always wore something along the lines of leather and fur, Ilsa usually had the sense to match. Today nothing matched! The tanning of her pants, belt, boots, and jacket were all different!

Ilsa shrugged. "Am too tired to care."

Abbey shrugged. It was Frightday. She only had to make it through the next seven and a half hours of school before the weekend could officially begin. The best part was that it was a long weekend. Today was the last day of the first grading quarter which meant a three day weekend so the teachers had plenty of time to get as much grading as possible done. A three day weekend meant slumber party! It was Cleo's turn to host, which meant some of the best goodies and amenities! Abbey was certain the only thing that would get her through this day was the knowledge of an entire weekend with the ghouls.

As the duo walked into the creepateria for breakfast they were greeted by the rest of their friends. Everyone was talking amiably about their group plans for their weekend at Cleo's. Everyone except Ilsa. She was too busy looking over the flashcards Frankie had helped her make for her presentation. Ilsa didn't want to make a fool out of herself so she insisted on doing her entire presentation in English without Abbey having to translate at any time. Frankie had been a great friend and was incredibly patient over the last few weeks as she helped Ilsa with her project. The plus side was the her English has improved greatly. She still got her grammar mixed up and often left words out, especially when she was tired, but the improvement was definitely noticeable. Ilsa flipped through her card and read each of them in her head first before she mouthed each individual word between mouthfuls of eggs and pancakes. She had to be prepared.

"Ilsa? Did you hear me?"

Her head snapped up. "Huh?"

Lagoona was staring at her. "I asked if you wanted to get in a game of screech volleyball during eighth period."

Ilsa smiled. "We play teams this time?"

"Only if you're so afraid you're gonna lose."

"Oh, bring on game, Fishy."

"It's been brought, Snowflake."

The two laughed.

The rest of the group looked on with smiles. Since most of them were on the fear leading team it left them little time to look into other sports. Despite what some students might think, the fear leaders attended nearly every sporting event, they held fundraisers for the school, they were ambassadors, tour guides, and the welcome committee. To be honest, being a fear leader at Monster High was a full time job, but they loved it.

First bell rang out and the students that had been enjoying their breakfasts stood and filed out of the creepateria. The day seemed to drag on for Ilsa. The rolled poster that she kept tucked under her arm between classes started to feel like a lead weight. During lunch she ran over a shortened version of her presentation with Frankie. Afterwards she felt a little more confident. So far in the group only Abbey had known her little secret, but now Frankie was in on it. Ilsa made the construct swear on her neck bolts that she wouldn't tell a soul.

Fifth period went by too fast. Before Ilsa knew it she was sitting in her assigned seat in sixth period Monster World History. Wednesday, Thursday, and Frightday had been devoted to the students giving their presentations. So far she had heard about the histories of werewolves, werecats, freshwater monsters, vampires, and yetis since Abbey had already gone on Wednesday. There were only four students left. She spaced out as a short boy with flaming red skin and hair took to the front to tell them all about imps. She didn't even realize when he finished and the teacher called her name.

"Ilsa." Pause. "Ilsa? Ilsa, you're next!"

She looked up and noticed people staring at her. Her head dropped slightly in embarrassment as she grabbed her poster and quickly walked up to the front. Taking a deep breath, Ilsa unraveled her project and used the magnetic clips on the board to hold it in place. After another deep breath she took her flashcards out of her pocket as she turned to face the class. Her mouth felt dry when she saw thirty sets of eyes staring at her. With a hard swallow, she began.

"My name is Ilsa Frostbite. Here, I show not only my family, but our home." She took a deep breath. "My family been in Himalayas for many, many generations, but here," she pointed to the very top of her tree, "I show that we not always there. Originally, my ancestors were from high, high mountains in Russia. They were there before Russia was country in own right." She swallowed hard. "However, this only shows mother's side." She pointed to the single lonely branch that went out from the right side of her name. "This single spot with name 'Unknown' is for my father. My father was traveler who meet my mother by chance." She took a deep breath and looked around the room. She was oddly relieved by the fact that half of the class looked rather bored and disinterested in her story. "My father was a snow beast from far north. This is why I do not look like my cousin, Abbey. Yetis have two very different appearances. Men look like what normie legend say. They large men covered in much white-grey hair with large tusks. Men's job is to ward off those not allowed near yeti village or to fight those who pose threat. Women not look so rough. They look like Abbey. Though is men's job to keep intruders away, yeti women are not weak. They very strong, very aggressive fighters. Men protect the mountain, women protect the village."

She closed her eyes. "You already know about yetis because of Abbey's presentation, so I focus more on my snow beast father." She cleared her throat and opened her eyes. "What I know of snow beasts I know because I research. I did not get to grow up learning them from one of them like many of you. Snow beasts are monsters that may be like normies, but no one knows. Very little is known of them. Snow beasts appear to be made completely of snow, you can see by parts of my own body. They eyes not like normal eyes. I have snow beast left eye. Is made of ice, hard as diamond. Iris is only for show. This eye see only see in one coloring. It is all the time like I am inside room with normal lighting. I can see in dark with eye and in very bright sun it not need sunglasses.

"Snow beasts very reclusive, not often leaving their own villages. Snow beasts have many defense mechanisms. When faced with aggressor, snow beast will double or triple in size using snow to build body. They grow hard ice-armor and may have spikes of ice come from body. Some snow beasts also have power to turn snow into life. Only one battle in history of snow beasts. Two tribes fought over territory. Not many monsters lived there, so they increased their numbers with living snow-people they make in image of own self. These creatures not live long and die easy. Is more like puppet on string than real life."

Ilsa took a shaky breath. Now it was time for her to show the truly amazing part of her father's genes. "Most incredible thing, though, is healing. Snow beasts made of snow and ice, not bone and skin." She held up her left hand. "Snow beast can lose limb and it will reform on own." She took a deep breath and wrapped her free hand firmly around her left index finger. Ilsa had practiced and practiced this part. Closing her eyes, she put pressure on the finger in the wrong direction and…

The class shrieked as she used enough force to break off the digit.

Silence reigned as everyone watched in wonder as the finger first grew back its icy bone structure, than the snow of the hand crept up and covered it.

Ilsa cleared her throat. "Snow beast has two natural enemies: heat and snow. They melt easy if it get too hot. However, snow very dangerous. If snow beast becomes covered in snow and cannot move it will slowly become the snow. They are as much a part of snow as snow is part of them." With those final words she nodded to Mr. Dread to let him know she was finished.

Mr. Dread sat behind his desk shocked at what he had just seen. "How _fascinating_ …right class? It seems that we have an oddity in our midst. Miss Frostbite is quite possibly the only one of her kind. Now, Ilsa, please continue on with your family stories."

Ilsa nodded. First she told a story of when her grandfather was young he saved the life of a yeti girl from being trampled by a mammoth that had been stuck with a spear on accident. Had he not been there to rescue the girl she would have surely been killed. Fate would have it that the two yetis would one day become bonded together and give birth to twin daughters, Lidya and Liliya, her and Abbey's mothers.

"Do you think your grandfather would've met your grandmother without that rampaging mammoth?"

Ilsa chuckled and shook her head. "No. Granda was visiting with his Papa from next village over to trade goods. If mammoth not get stuck, they never have met."

Mr. Dread clapped slightly. "How fangtastic that your fate laid in the hands of someone you will never know. You owe your existence to whoever had accidentally stuck that mammoth. Now, you do not know who your father is, but do you know anything about him?"

Ilsa swallowed hard and clutched the cold stone at her throat. Taking a deep breath, she nodded. "Yes. This necklace was gift from him to my mother. Not romantic gift, but was for trade." Taking another deep breath she launched into the shortened version of the story her mother had written her. She told of her father traveling to the North Pole to retrieve a stone that he could trade for one of the yetís' ice crystals so that he may travel the world safely. "Mama give me the stone when I was born so that I may always have small piece of him, even if I not know him."

Mr. Dread gave her a short clap before turning to the class. "Does anyone have any questions for Ilsa?"

A few hands shot up.

"Ilsa, you may chose."

She looked around and saw that one hand was Gil, Lagoona's boyfriend. That had to be safe. She pointed to him.

"Ilsa, can you make living snow people?"

She shook her head. "No. I try much when younger, but I did not get that talent. Am very good at making snow-people though, just not living ones." She pointed to a rather preppy looking vampire ghoul.

"Um…Yeah, this doesn't have to do with your presentation, but, what on Earth are you wearing?"

Ilsa laughed. "Actually is related. This is something many yeti would wear. Pants made of yak-skin, boots made of hard yak leather with soles of ground hooves and horns. Shirt is woven out of mammoth fur. Is ugly, but is comfortable and functional. Jacket is mammoth leather with snow leopard fringe." She pointed to the last hand raised without realizing who it was.

It was Toralei.

The werecat smirked and played with her whiskers. "So basically what you've told us is that you're a freak even among monsters."

"I not freak!"

"So you aren't some half-breed monster that becomes a huge beast when you're angry?"

Ilsa swallowed hard. _Lie, lie, you have to lie._ "I am half-breed monster, but I cannot turn into huge beast like father could. I not have that ability since am not full snow. I only got snowy skin from father."

Toralei smirked. "So you only get to _look_ like a freak? What a rip off."

Mr. Dread smacked his desk. "Enough, Miss Stripe. These presentations are about sharing what we are with pride. For too long normies made us ashamed to be monsters. We had to hide behind masks, clothes, and makeup. Monster High is a school built on acceptance. You will not degrade another monster in my class again or it's the Headmistress' office for you."

Toralei grumbled as she sunk lower into her seat. As she watched Ilsa take down her poster and find her seat she decided that from that moment on the half yeti-half snow beast would be her new project. She would make the blue ghoul's life a living hell.

 **A/N OK, maybe not more exciting, but now we have a firmly established villain! Woo hoo!**


	9. A Little Friendly Advice

**A/N OK, one thing I pulled from the Gitty Daneshvari books was Ms. Tsu Nami, however I've tweaked her just a little. You'll see right below! Also, I will be bringing in the hybrid monsters of Freaky Fusion at some point, but to be honest I thought of Ilsa before that movie came out and am still thinking of how to make it all fit. Which, obviously, means that this story takes place before Freaky Fusion and Boo York.**

 **Chapter Eight: A Little Friendly Advice**

Mr. Verizhe blew his whistle fifteen minutes before the end of the day just as Lagoona spiked the screaming volleyball into the sand. Ilsa dropped to her knees, breathing heavily. She enjoyed the sport, but Lagoona was a formidable opponent. Her teammate, a werecat named Tabi, was lying in the sand, her chest heaving. It had been a close game, but it felt like over half of the time they were just trying to keep up with Lagoona and her partner, Suna Me. Suna was the daughter of a sea monster, like Lagoona, but she was more sea than monster. She had nearly translucent skin, hair like seaweed, and a habit of dripping on everything. The two sea monsters cheered and high-fived. Crossing under the net, they reached to help their opponents to their feet.

"Good game, ghouls! Maybe we'll rematch next week."

Ilsa saw Suna's hand held out to her and shook her head. "I get up on own. Not want freeze you." She brushed off her pants and smiled at Suna and Lagoona. "I rematch, not know if kitty cat brave enough."

Tabi playfully growled at Ilsa. "You just worry about yourself, Snowflake. If they wanna rematch, we'll give 'em a rematch!" She threw an arm around Ilsa's cold shoulders. "We were just going easy on, them, right?"

Ilsa smirked. "Ya." As the four ghouls all laughed and walked back to the locker rooms Ilsa couldn't help but think about her new nickname. First it had started with Coach Igor calling her Snowflake when she fumbled during a sprint against Tabi and now almost everyone used it. She felt like it was them accepting her into their sporty group. It made her feel good. Here in phys. dead she never felt like an outsider.

After everyone had showered and changed, Ilsa and Lagoona left the locker room together. They were talking about the upcoming weekend at Cleo's with fervor.

"I can't believe you've never been to a sleepover, mate!"

Ilsa shook her head. "Is not really something we do in mountains. Even if we did, I not have friends other than Abbey, so I would not have been invited anyway."

Lagoona hooked arms with her. "Don't worry, we have plenty of sleepovers during the year. You'll get loads of them under your belt!"

The friends waved goodbye as Ilsa climbed the stairs to her dorm to gather her things and get ready to leave. Abbey was already there, tucking some pajamas and a couple outfits into her fur-lined duffle bag. She plopped down onto her bed and sighed. It had been a tiring day and after her presentation she felt as though everyone was constantly staring at her. She knew they weren't, but knowing that everyone-or at least sixth period Monster History-knew was a hard fact to live with.

"You know, I hear some ghouls talking about how you broke off finger in class. People impressed. They think is cool trick."

Ilsa snorted. "Is not trick."

"No, but is cool. Ilsa, you may not know, but sometimes I wish I was like you. Remember when we were younger?"

The two-tone ghoul turned to her cousin. "Abbey, all days before today we younger. When you mean?"

Abbey chuckled. "I mean _younger_ younger. I was ten. Father's mammoth spooked and stepped on my leg and broke it. I was in bed for months. But you, you fall off cliff onto big rock and just have to sit for minute while your arm grow back. You know, you kinda like Frankie."

Ilsa raised her only brow. "How?"

"Well, Frankie tend to pop apart. She easily put herself back together. You can do same."

"Only certain parts."

Abbey huffed. Why was Ilsa being so difficult? She shrugged it off and zipped up her bag. "You ready for weekend?"

Ilsa slumped her shoulders. "Do I have to go?"

Abbey stopped. She turned slowly and saw her rather downtrodden looking cousin. "Why you suddenly not want to go? You like ghouls! You feel like part of group, yes? You and Lagoona getting closer! You know, Clawdeen also play sports. She on baseball team. You can play in spring!"

"Abbey."

"I thought you getting along well! What happened? Who say something?"

The temperature in the room seemed to drop to an even colder degree. A glass of water on the nightstand began to frost over.

"Ilsa, someone say something to you after presentation? This about Toralei?"

"Abbey."

"One day, am going to show that kitty what it really means to-"

"ABBEY!"

The furious yeti teen stopped mid threat and looked at her cousin. "Ya?"

Ilsa took a deep breath. "Is not about presentation or Toralei. Is just…I not know…I been thinking. I need to write back to Mama." She glanced over to the desk. Her mother's letter containing the truth behind her necklace had come over a month ago. Since then she had received three letters from her mother, all of which she had refused to open or respond to. She was giving her mother the cold shoulder and guilt was beginning to creep into her heart. Her mother was the only monster in the world that had absolutely always stood beside her and now she was ignoring her.  
Abbey frowned slightly and reached for the unopened letters. "Aunt Lidya _is_ worried. I get letter from Mama last week. She say your mother is anxious." She handed the letters to her cousin. "Maybe you come tomorrow night?"

Ilsa took the letters and smiled weakly. "I try."

The cousins bid their goodbyes on the front steps of the school as Abbey climbed into the back of Draculaura's hearse. Ilsa waved them off with the promise of coming over the following evening. Once they were out of site she went back inside and up to her shared dorm. The letters were sitting on her bed, taunting her with whatever was inside of them. A part of her wished there were phones at the top of the Himalayas so she could just call her mother and talk this whole thing out, but good luck trying to get reception at nearly thirty-thousand feet. Ilsa looked around the room and despite the cold she felt stuffy and warm with nervous energy. She needed to be outside. Ilsa grabbed a simple leather messenger bag off the edge of her dresser and stuffed the letters inside. As she shouldered the bag she grabbed a pen and some paper from the desk. Perhaps being outside in the cool autumn air would help her deal with these demons.

Ilsa made her way down the twisted rose colored stairs and out to the courtyard. It was empty save for a few crows pecking away at a dropped bag of chips. She took in a deep breath and smiled. Being alone was nice. Ilsa had always liked being alone. Hunting by herself or trekking through the mountaintops in perfect silence was always relaxing. She just hated how the scorn she received from fellow villagers made her feel lonely. Shrugging off the memories of home she sat on the edge of the fountain. The cool sound of the splashing water set her mind at ease as she pulled out the first envelope. Ilsa held up her left hand and let the icy nail on her first finger grow from short and neat to a long point. She used the nail to rip open the letter in a neat slice. As she pulled the single page out she suddenly feared for how worried her mother may sound.

 _My Darling Ilsa,_

 _You have not replied to my letter and I fear the worst. Darling, I know the truth about your necklace was a shock. I knew it would be when I wrote to you the first time. You must understand. I never intended to hurt you by keeping the truth from you, I had only hoped that the less connected you felt to your father the less you would want to run off and find him. Please respond, Ilsa. I need to know you understand._

 _Love, Your Mother_

She sighed and tucked the letter back into her bag. Her mother hadn't meant to hurt her…but she had. All her life she had asked questions about her father and she had always been told the same thing: He was a traveler from the north who came and went. She had never even known his name and at times she wondered if her mother even knew. After tucking a stray braid behind her ear she pulled out the second letter. This one was rather short and to the point, it seemed.

 _Ilsa, please, write me back. Ask me anything. I need to know you understand. Please, Ilsa._

She gnawed on her bottom lip, now feeling rather guilty. The first letter had arrived over a month ago. The second followed quickly. The third had arrived just two days ago. She almost feared for what that one would say as she opened the envelope and pulled the page out.

 _Ilsa,_

 _I know you're angry at me. I can tell. If I could leave the mountains and go to you I would, but the elders have forbidden this. If I leave to see you am I never allowed to return. Now, the letter's your aunt has received from Abbey have told me what you won't. Ilsa, I'm sorry I kept the truth from you, but you need to understand the less you knew the better. I was protecting you. Just know my offer to answer any question you have still stands._

 _In the mean time, I want to tell you how proud I am. Abbey has mentioned you've started up with sports. I knew an agile, strong ghoul like yourself would make an excellent addition to any team. She says you've made friends with many of them without any help from her, a task that seemed difficult at first. Ilsa, I am happy to hear you've really begun to flourish. Please, please know how proud I am. If you keep up such good work you may be able to return home at the end of this school year. I want to know more about this._

 _All my love, Mama_

Ilsa sighed and tucked the letter away. She knew the talk of her joining sports was her mother's attempt at mending their rather shaky bond. Ilsa would have to indulge her on that, but first, she wanted answers. She pulled out the papers and pen she had brought along and began.

 _Dear Mama,_

 _How could you keep this from me? Why? What harm would knowing that the stone came from my father and not family do? I just don't understand. And what of the story? You told me all my life that you knew nothing about him, that he had never told you anything about himself while he was there and yet suddenly you know this whole story about how he always wanted to travel the world. You want questions? Fine. I have questions._

 _What is my father's name? You would never tell me, but I know you know. Where is he from exactly? You say you never wanted me to run off and find him, well, now I cannot return home so I might as well._

She paused a moment and chewed on the end of her pen. The last question she had in mind she was uncertain if she wanted to know the answer to. Would it make things better, or worse? She wasn't sure if she could even bring herself to write it down.

"Ilsa?"

Her head snapped up and she looked around to see who was talking to her. At the bottom of the stairs she saw Andy. They had spoken a few times since their first rather unfortunate encounter and subsequent apology. She raised her hand in a friendly gesture. "Hello, Andy."

He walked over, his bare feet obviously not bothered by the chilly ground. "What are you doing here? I thought all the ghouls were having some big thing over at Cleo's?"

Ilsa frowned and looked back at the paper in her lap. She waved a hand over it, trying to seem as nonchalant and not completely frustrated as possible. "Am writing home. Mother is worried. Have not written recently."

"Oh! Well, I'll leave you to it."

Ilsa watched him start to walk away, chewing on her bottom lip. Before he got too far away she called out. "Andy!" He stopped and turned. Ilsa thought for a moment she saw a look of relief on his face. Perhaps he had been looking for someone to be around.

Andy walked back over and took a seat near Ilsa on the edge of the fountain. "Yes?"

Ilsa looked down at the letter again. "Andy…what if…what if your parents knew what you were…if they could tell you…what would you do?"

Andy glanced down at the paper in her lap. He didn't want to be a sneak, but he hoped that maybe knowing what she was writing home about would help. He was blocked, however, by a lacking knowledge of the Yetish written language. He looked back up at her. All afternoon at school all anyone could talk about was how Abbey's cousin had broken off her own finger in class and that she was actually some weird yeti-snow beast hybrid. Now she looked somewhat sad, perhaps a mixture of confused and frustrated. He took a deep breath and replied, "I'd ask them everything. All I know is that I was the only monster in a normie village. My parents tried to send me away for my own safety because the normies didn't understand, but there was a storm and my ship was wrecked on a desert island."

Ilsa suddenly forgot about her letter and looked up at him. "Your parents not monsters?"

He shook his head. "No. They told me they had found me as a baby. They were moving from one village to another and found me on the side of the road in a broken down wagon. They had no idea what I was, but they always told me they could never have left a baby alone like that; monster or not." He nodded to her letter. "Does writing home have something to do with this?"

She nodded. "Mother always tell me she not know much about my father…that he was traveler from north. I not even know his name. She never tell me anything, but when I ask for project she tells me story of when they meet. I know she know more than she telling. I need to know, too…"

Andy reached over and put a hand over her snowy wrist. It was the strangest feeling he had ever experienced. She was cold to the touch as one would expect snow to be, but the longer his hand lingered the more he could feel a warmth coming from her arm. The cold snow of her arm seemed to beat with warmth and life. "I understand. I spent an entire summer trying to track down any clues as to what I am. All I learned was that my parents had passed away long ago. Their grandchildren had only heard stories of the monster their grandparents had raised. No one even remembered my name."

Ilsa looked at the hand on her wrist and swallowed hard. She felt embarrassed and flustered by it. She knew it was silly, but she had never been touched by a boy in a kind way before. The boys in her village had touched her, all right, but it was often two hands on her back to shove her to the ground. Ilsa gave Andy a weak smile. "Thank you." She quickly turned back to her letter and wrote the last question she wanted to ask.

 _Does he know about me?_

She signed the letter, folded it up, and tucked it into her bag. She turned to Andy who had now released her wrist and smiled. "Thank you, Andy, for talking. The ghouls give good advice, but is often confusing or they all say different thing. Abbey…she is cousin and close to problem. You know, though. You know what is like."

Andy smiled back and stood up, offering her his hand. "No problem. Hey, at least you don't turn into some huge monster when you're mad. Try dealing with that!" He laughed at himself, something he had been working on doing at Frankie's advice. She said if he could learn to laugh at his freaky flaw the way she did when her leg suddenly popped off it wouldn't be so hard to live with.

Ilsa's eyes widened and she forced to laugh. She gulped hard. "Uh…Yeah…That would be crazy."

Andy nodded towards the school's front gate. "If you aren't busy, do you want to go do something? There's a new boo-vie out that I want to see. Those things are really cool, huh? I had never seen a boo-vie before I came to Monster High. Actually, I had never used a phone or anything like that either!"

Ilsa felt she needed to mail her letter off as soon as possible, but perhaps it could wait another day. Andy was a nice monster. She suddenly remembered when Abbey had tried to tell you that she and Andy weren't terribly different. "Is it new Veronica VonVamp one? I think she is very pretty ghoul."

The two young monsters left the school grounds and walked the distance to the center of the town of New Salem. Ilsa promised herself she would mail the letter off in the morning before calling her cousin. For now, though, she felt like getting to know Andy just a little bit better. After all, they were a lot more alike than she originally thought.


	10. Kindred Spirits

**Suddenly, I am filled with inspiration!**

 **Chapter Nine: Kindred Spirits**

During their walk into town Ilsa and Andy had idly chatted about school and their hobbies. She found Andy to be a good listener and patient when her English suddenly failed her. She talked about what it was like to be an outcast in her own village. She told him how hard it was, yet how liberating it was. At any moment she could dash off with her spear or traps and be gone for a day or two and the only one who would care was her mother. The freedom of being an outcast was something she missed. Being at Monster High was great. She was making friends, people waved at her in the hallway, people wanted to make plans with her, but she didn't have her freedom anymore. She missed getting to run off and just disappear for hours on end. When it was Andy's turn to speak Ilsa realized she knew nothing of the young monster aside from the fact that he had lived alone on an island and was raised by normies. As it turned out, Andy's years of living on his own had made him rather handy with turning nothing into something. He told her about a watering system he had devised out of hollowed bamboo that went from a nearby waterfall to his boat. Needing to climb down a tree and lug back what water he could every time he ran out had gotten quite old. He was also rather proficient in testing a plant's edibility. He laughed through a story about a time he had eaten some strange fruit that looked innocent enough and turned out to cause the worst gastric distress he had ever experienced. From then on he devised a way to safely test every new thing he came across. They never made it to the boo-vie theater. Instead they continued to talk as they walked around the city's park. There was an old merry-go-round that had been shut down for the winter in the park's center.

Ilsa stopped in front of the children's ride and leaned against the barrier. She had never seen a merry-go-round before and had wished it were earlier in the season so that she might see this one in action. She looked over each of the steeds. Some were unicorns, others were pegasi, there was even a pair of prowling tigers.

"Frankie told me they start this back up during spring break."

Ilsa turned to look at Andy and smiled. "Have never seen go-round before. Looks fun."

He chuckled. "I hadn't either before they brought me back to Monster High."

She sighed and stared intently at the carousel. "You like it here?"

"Who wouldn't? It's the only place I've ever felt like I belonged." Andy looked over and noticed she had stopped smiling. His brow furrowed. "What's wrong?"

Ilsa frowned as she ran an icy nail along the railing. "You not think it would be better to stay on island? Away from everyone? Forever?"

Andy watched her a moment. She seemed lost, as if she were suddenly elsewhere. He took a moment to compose a response. "Well, on the island I was alone for years. The Tiki feared me, Farnum tried to capture me more than once. I only had the statues I carved to keep me company. Now that I'm here I wouldn't go back. Being around anger and intolerance brings out the beast, but being around kind monsters like the students and teachers at Monster High helps. I haven't turned into the beast since last spring."

Ilsa mulled over his words. For years she had considered isolation as her only hope. Perhaps Andy was right. Being around such welcoming monsters could be the answer to her problems.

"Can I ask you a question?"

She looked up. How long had she been lost in thought? "Hmm?"

Andy tilted his head slightly. "I know you didn't get along well with the other yetis, is that why you're here? Did Abbey suggest you spend a year here to get away from it all?"

Ilsa's pale blue skin seemed to drain of what little flush was in her face. No one had asked just exactly why she was in New Salem. Everyone just assumed she was just following in her cousin's footsteps by coming to Monster High to get away from home and become her own person. Ilsa swallowed hard. "Um…I…Well…"

He realized he may have overstepped. He held up a hand to stop her. "You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

She took a deep breath. If she didn't talk about it she would never get over it. "No. I tell you." Ilsa looked away, back to the carousel. Her eyes fixed on one of the animals. It was a mammoth holding its trunk high and one foot extended with pretty bells hanging from its tusks. Honestly, it was rather ridiculous. Mammoths were proud creatures, not prancing ninnies. She looked back at him. "I cannot go home. Have been banished."

Andy was visibly shocked. He stuttered and stumbled trying to think of what to say. Ilsa, the shy, quiet ghoul, had been _banished_ from her village?

She nodded. "Yes. Banished. Well, not really…I can return when I am getting myself under control. You see…I have very bad…um…what is word for anger? Sudden angry."

"Temper?"

"Temper! Yes, I have very bad temper. Um…years and years boys pick on me. They push and shove. One even put torch on my arm." She ran her hand over the snowy flesh. Despite how easily she had broken off her finger, it had hurt like no other. Ilsa had full feeling in her snowy body parts. "Half my arm melt off." She paused a moment to compose the next portion of her story. "Worst one was not long before I come here."

He frowned. "There's something worse than having your arm melted off?"

She nodded solemnly. "The boys who pick on me, they all get together one day. The leader corner me, taunt me with fire. He say he will melt me. Others hold me down." Her next breath was shaky. "He put torch near my face. It almost touch my eye."

Andy was enraptured by the tale. He leaned on the railing and watched as she told her story. Her eyes were once again locked on the mammoth.

"I lose my temper. I become so angry. So very, very angry." She was staring at the ground, her eyes far off as if she were watching the scene unfold before her. "Yetis are very strong, so are snow beasts. I get away from boys holding me down. I attack the leader." She frowned. "I threw him over cliff…"

Andy's eyes widened. "Did…Did he…I mean…"

"He live…barely." She turned to look at him. "They send me away until I can control my temper."

"But you don't seem like a very angry ghoul. I've never even heard you raise your voice at someone. Why can't you go back now?"

Ilsa shrugged. "No one has made me angry…though Toralei has poked buttons."

Andy looked at her. He had never met another monster that really knew what it was like. The exclusion. The hatred. The violence. None of the other monsters at school had experienced such a life. But she had. Ilsa knew what it was like. Perhaps…Andy gazed at Ilsa's face, noticing all the little things about her. He noticed that her normal eye wasn't just blue, but instead it was beautifully pale blue flecked with darker blue and white. Her fair blue skin was smooth and flawless, as if carved from ice. Her small tusks were pristinely white and poked out from between perfectly plump lips. The snowy half of her face sparkled and her icy eye looked as though it were cut from a precious gem.

"Why you stare at me?"

He shook his head and ran an anxious hand through his purple tresses. "Sorry. I guess I got a little lost in thought." He looked around. The sun was only just beginning to set in the western horizon. He nodded back the way they had come. "You know, I think there's still time to catch that boo-vie."

Ilsa smiled. "I like that."

Andy turned and offered his elbow for her to take. A quirky grin came across his face. "Well, then, shall we be off?"

She allowed herself a giggle as she tucked her snowy hand into the crook of his arm. Ilsa felt a flush rush into her right cheek. A boy had never escorted her anywhere before. There really weren't very many opportunities to be escorted in the Himalayas, but there had been the occasional youth outings in which the young couples paired by the council might walk hand-in-hand to. This was the first time in her life a boy had shown her anything but disdain or contempt.

The young monsters approached the boo-vie theater and for a moment Ilsa didn't care if anyone was staring at her. She was happy, truly happy. Once their tickets were purchased they made their way inside and bought some snacks before finding their seats. The boo-vie was a continuation of the Veronica VonVamp series about the vampire queen. In this installment they were delving into the queen's need to marry. Through much of the film Andy whispered little facts behind the boo-vie, such as Veronica VonVamp being the real vampire queen and that she was far from willing or ready to marry and take a king.

Andy glanced at Ilsa constantly throughout the film. Some monsters that had been sitting close had long since moved away, driven off by the radius of cold surrounding the hybrid ghoul. They were about as secluded as they could be in a theater. He glanced down at the armrest Ilsa was using and a thought passed his mind. _Would she mind?_ Andy decided to take a chance. He had never met a ghoul like Ilsa before. She understood him on a level that no one else ever had. Frankie and the other ghouls accepted him and sympathized with his situation, but only a handful of conversations had opened his eyes to Ilsa. Taking a deep breath he lifted his hand and tried to be as casual as possible as he laid it on top of Ilsa's.

The ghoul tensed for a moment. She wasn't terribly fond of being touched after a childhood of abusive teasing, but this…this was different. She felt confused. Why would Andy want to hold her hand? Only boys who liked… _Oooh…_ Ilsa glanced sideways at him through a few loose braids. He was watching the film, relaxed as he could be. A part of her didn't want to rush anything. Her mother had always said not to trust the first boy to ever say a kind word…however…Ilsa smiled softly and turned her hand over and wrapped her fingers around Andy's hand.

The young manster looked at her and smiled. He squeezed her hand softly.

Ilsa smiled back. Perhaps being banished from her village wasn't such a bad thing after all.


End file.
